Called and Queer: Lived religion and LGBTQ Methodist Clergy in South Africa

This seminar will mark the launch of Megan Robertson's new monograph which explores the lived experiences of LGBTQ Christian clergy in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa.

The Centre for Religion and Public Life and the Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Studies at the University of Leeds cordially invite you to the launch of a new book, Called and Queer: Lived Religion and LGBTQ Methodist Clergy in South Africa by Megan Robertson. The seminar is hosted as part of the School of Sociology and Social Policy’s Research Seminar series.

Called and Queer is the first in-depth exploration of the lived experiences of queer Christian clergy in an African context. Through rich ethnographic research, Megan Robertson delves into how LGBTQ clergy in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa navigate their vocations in a denomination that officially upholds traditional views on marriage. The book reveals how these clergy make sense of their roles, despite institutional challenges, and offers a nuanced analysis of gender and sexuality within the church.

This event is a must-attend for students and scholars in gender and sexuality studies, African religious studies, and the sociology of religion.

Professor zethu Matebeni is a sociologist, activist, writer, Professor and South Africa Research Chair in Sexualities, Genders and Queer Studies at the University of Fort Hare. zethu has held positions at the University of Cape Town, University of the Western Cape, University of Pretoria and has been a visiting Professor Yale University and Nelson Mandela University. zethu has published extensively on LGBTQ studies, and has been among the pioneers of African Queer Studies.

Reverend Lauren Matthew is a Methodist minister resident in Durban, South Africa, currently on Study leave. Lauren is a member of the MCSA’s Connexional LGBTIAQ Task Team and is a part-time contract lecturer of Religion UKZN.

Megan Robertson is a scholar specializing in queer and gender studies in religion. She is currently a UKRI (formerly Marie Skłodowska-Curie) Postdoctoral Fellow, based at the Centre for Religion and Public Life and serves as a lecturer in the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Leeds. She earned her PhD from the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, in 2020. Her research focuses on gender, sexuality, and Christianity in Southern Africa, and she has published extensively in these areas. She participates in international networks in the field through her role as managing editor of the African Journal of Gender and Religion, and as co-chair of the Religion and Sexuality Unit in the American Academy of Religion.

Adriaan van Klinken is Professor of Religion and African Studies at the University of Leeds, and a scholar of religion, gender and sexuality in contemporary Africa. His publications include Kenyan, Christian, Queer: Religion, LGBT Activism, and Arts of Resistance in Africa (2019), and together with Ezra Chitando, Reimagining Christianity and Sexual Diversity in Africa (2021).

This is a hybrid event. You are welcome to attend in person in the Social Sciences Building (Rooms 12.21/12.25), or to attend online:

MS Teams Meeting ID: 338 757 332 839
Passcode: Cq43Dw

If you have any queries about this event or the wider SSP Research Seminar series, please contact Marie Johnson M.B.Johnson@leeds.ac.uk.