Within this essay a study is made of an LGBTQ-orientated Christian service in Stockholm called Queer Service. The following questions seek to be answered: What reasons does an individual set for his/hers participation in Queer Service? Which aspects of a queer service highlight the participants as important to them? As a method to answer these questions, the author has observed a number of queer church services in autumn of 2012. Moreover communication within the group of the assembly on the social media page Facebook has been followed and five individuals from the Queer Service congregation have been interviewed. As a background to the study, the European religious climate seen from Grace Davies eyes is depicted. The reader also learns of how the Swedish church has handled questions about homosexuality and bisexuality and what liberation theology is. An (incomplete) section on other existing services with LGBTQ orientation in Sweden and the USA has been added as well as background information on Queer Service. The results from the gathering of material and the analysis of it show that the interviewees perceive themselves in need of a safe place free of harassment or suspicion linked to sexual orientation or gender identity. Several interviewees also experienced a conflict between Christian faith and an LGBTQ personality - a conflict the service could help solve. Participation in the service was also motivated as a way to resist structures that confirmed heterosexuality as a norm. Another aspect important to the interviewees is Queer Service's emphasis on internal authority and its lack of a clear hierarchy.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:sh-18115 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Fahlander, Kajsa |
| Publisher | Södertörns högskola, Institutionen för historia och samtidsstudier |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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