A Call to Embrace the Queerness of Our Movement for Freedom and Liberation

Sign‑On Statement for Faith Leaders, Communities, and Allies

Across our traditions, we know that liberation has never been secured by narrowing the circle or by distancing ourselves from those whose lives appear more complicated or controversial. Respectability has not and will not ever save us.

The expanding use of Queer to describe who we are and what we’re about has become an essential expression of resistance to the tyranny of “normal,” exposing how power enforces conformity, and insisting that no one is disposable. To be Queer is not a rejection of marriage, family, or tradition. It is a practice of widening the frame. It disrupts the assumption that there is only one “right” way to be, to love, to gather, or to belong and opens space for difference as a source of wisdom.

While Matthew Vines has offered invaluable guidance to mostly gay and lesbian Christians seeking to reconcile faith and identity, his recent Op Ed in the New York Times, “I’m Gay, Not Queer. It Matters.” raises concerns about the expanding use of “Queer” within our communities—fears that the term’s politics may eclipse the hopes of those who fought simply to participate in institutions like marriage and family. Vines is not alone. Others have raised similar concerns.

But in this moment, when white Christian nationalism is on the rise, our calling is clear: we must deconstruct the ideologies and structures that divide and exclude, and construct communities rooted in welcome, justice, and expansive belonging. The work before us is not to retreat into narrower identities, but to build a movement capable of resisting the forces that seek to shrink the circle of who counts.

No movement or community has the right to set up goalposts that guarantee safety or security only for those within its own group. When we do, we cloud the very truth that liberation belongs to all of us, and that every person deserves the chance not only to survive, but to thrive. We must ground ourselves in the truth that none of us is free until all of us are free. We will not get there by succumbing to fears that divide and harm the community. We will only get there together, expanding the circle intersectionally and collaboratively.

We reject the notion that Queer people must choose between belonging and authenticity.

We reject the idea that some identities are respectable enough for welcome while others must wait outside until those inside feel ready.

We embrace the Queerness of our communities and our movement for freedom and liberation.

We celebrate profoundly Queer ways of being: crossing boundaries of purity, gender, ethnicity, and class; touching bodies deemed untouchable; redefining family and holiness; and creating communities where the excluded find dignity. This is not a threat to the community. It is the community at its best. It embodies the values of a nation that pledges liberty and justice for all.

Our calling is not uniformity.
Our calling is not respectability.
Our calling is radical solidarity.

We sign this letter to affirm a simple truth: the sacred vision of beloved community is already wider than our imaginations. Queering does not threaten that vision. It clarifies it and challenges us to seek those who are being left behind. The freedoms and liberation we seek are wrapped up in this Queer, radically inclusive, and expansive welcome.