In the Intersection: LGBT Lit and Faith

The penultimate rec list in this series is one that covers LGBT lit in which faith and religion play a big role (but isn’t always the sole focus, mind). We’ve done our best here to feature as many religions as possible, but, as you might expect, some are (as ever) easier to find than others. The sections are sorted alphabetically (with a miscellaneous section which represents books covering multiple religions) so are easily searchable.

The series so far: Black, African & Caribbean lit, East Asian lit, West Asian lit, South Asian lit, Southeast Asian lit, Latine lit, Indigenous lit, neurodiversity & disability in lit.

We didn’t find much more examples (outside of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism), but here, have this documentary about a lesbian Taoist priestess and her daughter.

Buddhism

Queer Dharma: Voices of Gay Buddhists ed. by Winston Leyland (essays)
Sexuality in Classical South Asian Buddhism by José Ignacio Cabezón (nonfiction)
Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love, and Liberation by Angel Kyodo Williams, Lama Rod Owens, Jasmine Syedullah (nonfiction)
Transcending: Trans Buddhist Voices ed. by Kevin Manders & Elizabeth Marston (essays)
You Got to Burn to Shine by John Giorno (poetry)
The Great Mirror of Male Love by Saikaku Ihara, trans. by Paul Gordon Schalow (achillean mcs)

Christianity

A Curse of Roses by Diana Pinguicha (lesbian mc, lesbian li)
Release by Patrick Ness (gay mc, gay li)
In the Role of Brie Hutchens… by Nicole Melleby (lesbian mc)
There Goes Sunday School by Alexander C. Eberhart (gay mc)
Dress Codes for Small Towns by Courtney C. Stevens (bi/pan mc, sapphic li)

The God Box by Alex Sanchez (gay mc, gay li)
Quiver by Julia Watts (genderfluid mc)

Hinduism

Shikhandi and Other Stories They Don’t Tell You by Devdutt Pattanik (lgbt cast)
Blue Boy by Rakesh Satyal (gay mc)
When Tara Met Farah by Tara Pammi (bi mc, lesbian mc)
His Footsteps, Through Darkness and Light by Mimi Mondal (achillean mcs)
She of the Mountains by Vivek Shraya (nonbinary? bi mc)

Islam

Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar (bi mc, sapphic mc)
A Map of Home by Randa Jarrar (bi mc)
God in Pink by Hasan Namir (gay mc)
A Dutiful Boy by Mohsin Zaidi (memoir)
Corona by Bushra Rehman (bi mc)

A Match Made in Heaven ed. by Claire Chambers, Nafhesa Ali & Richard Phillips (essays)
Living Out Islam Voices of Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Muslims by Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle (nonfiction)
The Delight of Hearts, or What You Will Not Find in Any Book by Ahmad al-Tifashi, trans. by E. A. Lacey (poetry)

Judaism

I Kissed a Girl by Jennet Alexander (bi mc, lesbian mc)
Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler (bi mc, bi li)
Abroad by Liz Jacobs (gay mcs, bi mc)
The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros (gay mc)
The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid (sapphic characters)

The Wise and the Wicked by Rebecca Podos (trans li)
The Liar’s Guide to the Night Sky by Brianna R. Shrum (bi mc, pan aro li)
Milk Fed by Melissa Broder (sapphic mcs)
Avi Cantor Has Six Months to Live by Sacha Lamb (gay trans mcs)

Miscellaneous

The Book of Queer Prophets ed. by Ruth Hunt (essays)
Unorthodox: LGBT+ Identity and Faith ed. by Séan Richardson (essays)
I Am Divine. So Are You.: How Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and Hinduism Affirm the Dignity of Queer Identities and Sexualities by Devdutt Pattanaik, ed. by Jerry Johnson (nonfiction)
Keep Faith ed. by Gabriela Martins (lgbt cast)

Sikhism

Singh is Queer by Manpreet Singh (poetry)

Zoroastrianism

Beach Boy by Ardashir Vakil (gay mc)

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