We are honored to present a list (continually updated!) of the many books around the dimensions of LGBTQIA+ life and Christian faith.
The list below features as many in-print and affordable (under $40) books as possible, with a few particularly highlighted that have served as important touchpoints in the long conversation around sexuality, gender, identity, and faith. We use affiliate links for Amazon and Bookshop.org to help support our website costs (we make about $15-30 a month through Amazon Associates).
We also keep a separate list of the books that are out of print (usually determined by not being available for Amazon Prime) or are listed for over $40, if you’re interested in exploring even further!
Sexual Orientation and Scripture – by LGBTQIA+ People
Brandan Robertson, Gay & Christian, No Contradiction: A Brief Guide for Reconciling Christian Faith & LGBT+ Identity (2017) [ Amazon ]
Matthew Vines, God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships (2015) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Candace Chellew-Hodge, Bulletproof Faith: A Spiritual Survival Guide for Gay and Lesbian Christians (2008) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Debra Kolodney (ed), Blessed Bi Spirit: Bisexual People of Faith (2000) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Sexual Orientation and Scripture – by Allies
Staci Frenes, Love Makes Room: And Other Things I Learned When My Daughter Came Out (2021) [ Amazon ] [ Indiebound ]
Colby Martin, UnClobber: Rethinking Our Misuse of the Bible on Homosexuality (2016) [ Amazon ]
Mark Achtemeier, The Bible’s Yes to Same-Sex Marriage: An Evangelical’s Change of Heart (2014) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Kathy Baldock, Walking the Bridgeless Canyon: Repairing the Breach Between the Church and the LGBT Community (2014) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
David P. Gushee, Changing Our Mind: The Landmark Call for Inclusion of LGBTQ Christians (2014) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Peter Enns, The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It (2014) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
John Shore, UNFAIR: Christians and the LGBT Question (2013) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
James Brownson, Bible, Gender, Sexuality: Reframing the Church’s Debate on Same-Sex Relationships (2013) This thought-provoking book by James Brownson develops a broad, cross-cultural sexual ethic from Scripture, locates current debates over homosexuality in that wider context, and explores why the Bible speaks the way it does about same-sex relationships. [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
William Loader, Sexuality in the New Testament: Understanding the Key Texts (2010) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Jack Rogers, Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality, Revised and Expanded Edition: Explode the Myths, Heal the Church (2009) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Dale Martin, Sex and the Single Savior: Gender and Sexuality in Biblical Interpretation (2006) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Gender Identity
Justin Sabia-Tanis, Trans-Gender: Theology, Ministry, and Communities of Faith (2018) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Suzanne DeWitt Hall, Transfigured: A 40-day journey through scripture for gender-queer and transgender people (2018) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Austen Hartke, Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians (2017) By introducing transgender issues and language and providing stories of both biblical characters and real-life narratives from transgender Christians living today, Austen Hartke helps readers visualize a more inclusive Christianity, equipping them with the confidence and tools to change both the church and the world. [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Christina Beardsley, This Is My Body: Hearing the theology of transgender Christians (2017) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Laura Beth Taylor, Shattering Masks: Affirming Identity. Transitioning Faith (2016) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Teresa J. Hornsby and Deryn Guest, Transgender, Intersex, and Biblical Interpretation (2016) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Megan Defranza, Sex Difference in Christian Theology: Male, Female, and Intersex in the Image of God (2015) How different are men and women? When does it matter to us — or to God? Are male and female the only two options? In Sex Difference in Christian Theology Megan DeFranza explores such questions in light of the Bible, theology, and science. [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Brett Ray, My Name is Brett: Truths from a Trans Christian (2015) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Lisa Salazar, Transparently: Behind the Scenes of a Good Life (2011) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Church Life and Clergy Life
Julie Rodgers, Outlove: A Queer Christian Survival Story (2021) [ Amazon ] [ Indiebound ]
Bishop Karen Oliveto, Our Strangely Warmed Hearts: Coming Out into God’s Call (2018) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Connie Tuttle, A Gracious Heresy: The Queer Calling of an Unlikely Prophet (2018) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Gregory Millikin, Being Called, Being Gay: Discernment for Ministry in the Episcopal Church (2018) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
slats, queering lent (2017) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Mychal Copeland, D’vorah Rose, Ani Zonneveld, Struggling in Good Faith: LGBTQI Inclusion from 13 American Religious Perspectives (2016) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Heather Rachelle White, Reforming Sodom: Protestants and the Rise of Gay Rights (2015) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Ian Corbett, A Disreputable Priest: Being Gay in Anti-Gay Cultures (2015) [ Amazon ]
Jeff Chu, Does Jesus Really Love Me?: A Gay Christian’s Pilgrimage in Search of God in America (2014) As a journalist and a believer, Chu knew that he had to get to the heart of a question that had been haunting him for years: Does Jesus really love me? The quest to find an answer propels Chu on a remarkable cross-country journey to discover the God “forbidden to him” because of his sexuality. [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Jay Emerson Johnson, Peculiar Faith: Queer Theology for Christian Witness (2014) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
R. W. Holmen, Queer Clergy: A History of Gay and Lesbian Ministry in American Protestantism (2014) [ Amazon ]
Robert Everett Shore-Goss, Thomas Bohache, Patrick S. Cheng, Ramona Faye West, Queering Christianity: Finding a Place at the Table for LGBTQI Christians (2013) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Pastoral Care
David Kundtz, Ministry Among God’s Queer Folk, 2nd Ed.: LGBTQ Pastoral Care (2019) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Amber Cantorna, Unashamed: A Coming Out Guide for LGBTQ Christians (2019) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Tara K. Soughers, Beyond a Binary God: A Theology for Trans* Allies (2018) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Memoir, Biography, and Community Stories
Emmy Kegler, One Coin Found: How God’s Love Stretches to the Margins (2019) As a queer woman who grew up in both conservative Evangelical and progressive Protestant churches, Kegler knows too well how Scripture can be used to wound and exclude. And yet, the stories of Scripture continue to captivate and inspire her–both as a person of faith and as a pastor to a congregation. So she set out to fall in love with the Bible, where she met a God who continues to seek us out. [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Vicky Beeching, Undivided: Coming Out, Becoming Whole, and Living Free from Shame (2018) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Erin White, Given Up For You: A Memoir of Love, Belonging, and Belief (2018) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Amber Cantorna, Refocusing My Family: Coming Out, Being Cast Out, and Discovering the True Love of God (2017) [ Amazon ]
Brandon Robertson, Our Witness: The Unheard Stories of LGBT+ Christians (2017) [ Amazon ]
Brad and Drew Harper, Space at the Table: Conversations Between an Evangelical Theologian and His Gay Son (2016) [ Amazon ]
Jennifer Knapp, Facing the Music: My Story (2014) [ Amazon ]
Sally Gary, Loves God Likes Girls: A Memoir (2013) [ Amazon ]
Justin Lee, Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate (2013) In this groundbreaking book, Lee recalls the events–his coming out to his parents, his experiences with the “ex-gay” movement, and his in-depth study of the Bible–that led him, eventually, to self-acceptance. But more than just a memoir, Torn provides insightful, practical guidance for all committed Christians who wonder how to relate to gay friends or family members–or who struggle with their own sexuality. [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Relationships, Sexuality, and Ethics
Emily Joy Allison, #ChurchToo: How Purity Culture Upholds Abuse and How to Find Healing (2021) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Matthias Roberts, Beyond Shame: Creating a Healthy Sex Life on Your Own Terms (for release in 2020) Psychotherapist Matthias Roberts helps readers overcome their shame around sex by overcoming three unhealthy coping mechanisms we use to manage that shame.
David and Constantino Khalaf, Modern Kinship: A Queer Guide to Christian Marriage (2018) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Bromleigh McCleneghan, Good Christian Sex: Why Chastity Isn’t the Only Option-And Other Things the Bible Says About Sex (2016) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Dianna Anderson, Damaged Goods: New Perspectives On Christian Purity (2015) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Marvin Ellison and Kelly Brown Douglas, Sexuality and the Sacred, 2nd Ed.: Sources for Theological Reflection (2010) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Margeret Farley, Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics (2008) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
James Nelson, Embodiment: An Approach to Sexuality and Christian Theology (1978) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Intersectionality
Elle Dowd, Baptized in Tear Gas: From White Moderate to Abolitionist (2021) [ Amazon ]
Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons, Just Faith: Reclaiming Progressive Christianity (2020) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Lenny Duncan, Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the US (2019) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Emily Swan and Ken Wilson, Solus Jesus: A Theology of Resistance (2018) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Deborah Jian Lee, Rescuing Jesus: How People of Color, Women, and Queer Christians are Reclaiming Evangelicalism (2015) [ Amazon ]
Pamela R. Lightsey, Our Lives Matter: A Womanist Queer Theology (2015) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Rachel Murr, Unnatural: Spiritual Resiliency in Queer Christian Women (2014) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Patrick Cheng, Rainbow Theology: Bridging Race, Sexuality, and Spirit (2013) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Julia Serano, Excluded: Making Feminist and Queer Movements More Inclusive (2013) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Marcella Althaus-Reid, Indecent Theology: Theological Perversions in Sex, Gender, and Politics (2001) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
James Baldwin, Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953), a classic work of American literature; a novel about a black gay boy growing up in a charismatic church in the 50s. [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Queer Theology
Linn Marie Tonstad, Queer Theology: Beyond Apologetics (2018) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Mihee Kim-Kort, Outside the Lines: How Embracing Queerness Will Transform Your Faith (2018) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Liz Edman, Queer Virtue: What LGBTQ People Know About Life and Love and How It Can Revitalize Christianity (2017) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Jeff Hood, The Courage to Be Queer (2015) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Andy Buechel, That We Might Become God: The Queerness of Creedal Christianity (2015) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Kathleen T. Talvacchia, Mark Larrimore, Michael F. Pettinger, Queer Christianities: Lived Religion in Transgressive Forms (2014) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Patrick Cheng, Radical Love: Introduction to Queer Theology (2011) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Marcella Althaus-Reid, The Queer God (2003) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Robert Goss, Take Back the Word: A Queer Reading of the Bible (2000) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Fiction
Mia Kerick, Inclination (2015)
“Sixteen-year-old Anthony Duck-Young Del Vecchio is a nice Catholic boy with a very big problem. It’s not the challenge of fitting in as the lone adopted South Korean in a close-knit family of Italian-Americans. Anthony’s problem is far more serious—he is the only gay kid in his church’s youth group.” [ Amazon ]
S. Chris Shirley, Playing By The Book (2014)
“When newspaper editor Jake Powell, fresh from Alabama, lands in New York City to attend Columbia University’s prestigious summer journalism program, it’s a dream come true. But his father, a fundamentalist Christian minister, smells trouble, starting with Jake’s feelings for a handsome Jewish classmate named Sam.” [ Amazon ]
Jodi Picoult, Sing You Home (2011)
“When music therapist Zoe Baxter’s latest pregnancy ends in a stillbirth, her husband Max decides he can’t handle any more heartbreak and leaves her. As she picks up the pieces of her life, Zoe is surprised to find herself falling for a school counselor who happens to be a woman. Vanessa and Zoe wed in Massachusetts, and Vanessa offers to carry one of the fertilized embryos Zoe and Max stored. Zoe goes to Max to get him to release the embryos to her and is shocked when he instead sues her for custody of them, backed by his church.” [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]
Alex Sanchez, The God Box (2010)
“Paul, a religious teen living in a small conservative town, finds his world turned upside down when he meets Manuel—a young man who says he’s both Christian and gay, two things that Paul didn’t think could coexist.” [ Amazon ]
Children’s Books
Gayle E. Pitman and Laure Fournier, A Church For All (2018) [ Amazon ] [ Bookshop ]