Title: Sex and the church
First published: 1997
Description: Sex and the Church is a groundbreaking book that brings lesbian and gay theory and experience to bear on questions of sexuality and its relationship to Christian life. Ethicist Kathy Rudy begins by showing how the Christian Right's campaign for "family values" has profoundly shaped American debates about gender and sexuality, and how mainline Protestant denominations have responded by focusing narrowly on questions of inclusion and exclusion, rights and privileges for lesbians and gay men. She then moves the debate onto a new level, drawing on queer theory and the lives of gay and lesbian Christians to answer new questions: Are gender and sexual orientation categories by which we should define ourselves and judge each other?

Is the nuclear family the best site for Christian commitment? What is the purpose of sex, and what does it have to do with God? And what kind of intimate relationships best contribute to the formation of Christian community? Rudy concludes by proposing a new Christian sexual ethic that adapts the ancient notion of unitivity and procreativity to the church of today. This provocative work offers a powerful vision of a renewed Christian community, open to all.
Subjects: Christian ethics, Christianity, Homosexuality, Religious aspects, Religious aspects of Homosexuality, Religious aspects of Sex, Religious aspects of Sex role, Sex, Sex role, Sexual ethics, Morale chrétienne, Sexualité, Aspect religieux, Morale sexuelle, Églises protestantes, Communautés chrétiennes, Homosexualité, Théologie féministe, Rôle selon le sexe, Christianisme, Homosexuality, religious aspects, christianity, Sex role, religious aspects, Sex, religious aspects, christianity
LC classification: BR115.H6 R83 1997