Toxic Shame in the Church
LGBT+ Christians at the Edges of Belonging
Toxic Shame in the Church
LGBT+ Christians at the Edges of Belonging
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Publisher: SCM Press
ISBN: 9780334063735
Number of Pages: 192
Published: 30/06/2025
Width: 15.6 cm
Height: 23.4 cm
Grounded in an autoethnographic approach, this book draws from the author's personal experiences as a gay woman and former priest who faced institutional shaming. Drawing on practical theologies of shame, and the work of Christian anthropology, it challenges traditional theological perspectives on sin and human nature, proposing a person-centred model that emphasizes unconditional love and positive self-regard. By exposing and addressing the Church's role in constructing shame, the book proposes a pathway towards healing and self-acceptance for those marginalized by faith-based shaming.
Acknowledgements ix
Preface xi
Alpha: The Dream and the Beginning of a Journey – Winter 2016 xvii
Introduction: Longing and Revulsion at the Edges of Church 1
Questions for Reflection and Further Reading
1 The Theological Problem of Shame (and why the Church’s
answers are inadequate for LGBT+ Christians) 25
Questions for Reflection and Further Reading 43
2 The Chronicles of Shame for LGBT+ Christians:
A Lived Experience 47
Questions for Reflection and Further Reading 106
3 Sin and Shame Through a Person-Centred Lens 112
Questions for Reflection and Further Reading 134
4 Seeing Self Through the Eyes of Unconditional Love 138
Questions for Reflection and Further Reading 162
Omega: The Dream Revisited – Summer 2023 165
