Gay Spirituality [Paperback]

Toby Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 22, 2004

In this Lambda Literary award-winning title, author Toby Johnson explores how the rise of gay identity has become an important part of contemporary religious development.

This dramatic transformation has resulted due to the perspective of gay men; their ability to step outside the assumptions and conventions of culture and see things from a different point of view.

This book will reward readers seeking new insight into faith as well as culture, myth and traditions.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In this challenging and unusual book, Toby Johnson argues that while popular religion is supposed to be "the conveyor of wisdom," it relies on old myths that fail to address the most pressing issues of modern life (among them, the destruction of our environment, biotechnology, and racial equality). Gay men, he claims, by virtue of their position outside the mainstream, have developed ways of seeing that can help us develop a more evolved spirituality. Johnson's chief inspiration is Joseph Campbell, whose illuminations on myth and comparative religion have become wildly popular in the last two decades. But Johnson lacks much of Campbell's subtlety, and has a tendency to rely too much on Jungian thought. He argues against a dualistic world-view, for example, while reproducing some amazingly simplified views about women. And where are lesbians in Johnson's vision? All the enlightened knowledge bearers he anticipates are gay men (and childless ones, by the way). Despite these lapses, Gay Spirituality offers a lively romp through much New Age thought and, in Johnson's descriptions of biblical misreadings and cultural ignorance, a priceless survey of stupidity. Whether gay men can bring about a change in human consciousness is unclear--it is even less clear that, as Johnson breezily announces, "there is a goodness and virtue that runs through gay men's lives"--but his book should inspire serious thinking among spiritually minded gay men, and can serve as a useful antidote to Larry Kramer's Faggots. --Regina Marler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

We postmoderns are developing a whole new approach to religion, argues former Catholic monk Johnson, thinking of it as mythic and metaphorical, not literal and legalistic. He contends that this is due in large part to the infusion of a gay sensibility into contemporary religious life. Gay people, writes Johnson, are in a good position to rescue the "life-enhancing, mystical-consciousness-inspiring, all-loving spiritual core of the religious instinct" from evil, oppressive churches because many gays "feel the loving, religious sentiments deeply," but "do not fit into the Church." Some parts of gay spirituality (like a positive sex ethic) are new, says Johnson, and some of gay spirituality consists of putting a gay spin on many traditionally religious themes. That Johnson apparently believes metaphor is a new ingredient in religious life is just one of this book's many flaws: scholars from Karen Armstrong to Janet Martin Soskice have shown conclusively that thinking metaphorically is actually a very old way of doing religion, trumped by empiricism and literalism only since the Enlightenment. A second flaw is Johnson's caricature of Christianity. He assumes, for example, that the handful of Christians who believe AIDS to be God's punishment for homosexuals represents all of Christendom. But perhaps most disturbing is Johnson's assumption that he speaks for all gay people. Some homosexuals and lesbians may be inspired by the vague spirituality Johnson sketches, but most gay members of established faith traditions will find little here that is of use.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: White Crane Books (February 22, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590210220
• ISBN-13: 978-1590210222
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,398,657 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

author of The Myth of the Great Secret: An Appreciation of Joseph Campbell, Secret Matter, and other books. Past editor of White Crane Journal

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Provocative and insightful, July 28, 2000

By 

D. Sinclair - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gay Spirituality : The Role of Gay Identity in the Transformation of Human Consciousness (Paperback)

Homosexuality is objectively disordered, sinful, immoral. Such are the positions still held by the Roman Catholic church and many protestant Christian denominations. Having grown up with this kind of outright moral condemnation, many gay men go on to reject organized religion, and there's nothing wrong with that. Unfortunately, many throw the baby out with the bathwater, and ban not only religion, but spirituality from their lifes, leaving them spiritually empty and longing for that missing piece to the puzzle of happiness.

This book can guide you to that piece. It shows that being gay is a spiritual asset, not a liability. Where some look down on same-sex love as defective, because it does not express the male-female duality, Johnson turns it around and proudly declares that to be the precise reason why same-sex love is spiritually superior. It transcends the duality.

Johnson's vision of a life-affirming, sex-positive spirituality of love, cooperation, mutual respect and acceptance is in sync with modern scientific knowledge, and does not ask the reader to suspend logic or critical thinking. Gay christians who are struggling with their sexual orientation will especially appreciate Johnson's convincing refutation of common "biblical" anti-gay arguments.

A powerful book for personal change, a wonderful antidote to the negativity of the Religious Right, and a great gift to a gay friend who is unhappy with his life or suffering from low self-esteem.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Godsend in the Search for Meaningful Spirituality, July 29, 2004

By 

Lori L. Lake "Author of Like Lovers Do, Buyer... (Portland, Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gay Spirituality (Paperback)

On a daily basis, gay people are inundated with negative messages in every realm: social, political, cultural, and religious-especially religious. Many, if not most, mainstream churches have deliberate proscriptions against homosexuality, and with all that we've seen lately in the news, there seems to be no end in sight to the strife. Despite the fact that each year scientists offer more proof that sexual orientation is genetic (i.e. that's the way God made us), many churchgoers and clergy discriminate against gay people.

Lost in the midst of the polemics and condemnations are millions of non-heterosexual people trying to make their way in a world where matters of the Spirit are land mines and the path of that same Spirit does not always appear accessible. In his marvelous new book on this topic, Toby Johnson writes: "There is a Sufi saying: 'If the rose knew what the gardener's care would result in come spring, it would joyfully bend to the pruning knife.' Gay people experience pruning in late childhood and early adulthood. We realize the truth of our orientation and have to give up familial and cultural expectations of what our lives will be. Often we experience ridicule and ostracism by schoolmates and peers, along with rejection and disapproval by parents. Even if we grow up feeling it is okay to be gay, we experience confusion and trauma because we will not follow in the path that our parents, teachers, and role models have laid before us" (p. 239) It's this very phenomenon that tends to alienate gay people from churches and from the life-force of the Spirit.

For gay men, in particular, Toby Johnson' book GAY SPIRITUALITY is a lifesaver. Johnson's thesis is that gays are very much "Outsiders" in American society, and because of that, gay people possess valuable knowledge and inspiration about the true nature of the Spirit. Gay people experience the world differently than others do, including being more aware of the polarities. Rather than exclusion from the world of God, religion, and spirituality, Johnson calls for all people to listen to and heed the wisdom gay people have to offer. Because human knowledge and understanding continues to grow, Johnson wants any person struggling with gay issues to know that we are in the middle of a huge transformation of human consciousness-a major paradigm shift. Because of this, there is much to learn and room for growth, all of which is likely to give anyone struggling with issues of the Spirit a fair amount of hope.

Drawing from world religions, the Hero Cycle, Jungian thought, and dozens of other sources, Johnson discusses religion, spirituality, and sexuality from a variety of angles. With his background as a teacher, theologian, ex-Roman Catholic monk, and writer, this book has much to offer any person exploring spiritual paths. Ultimately, I found myself resonating strongly while reading part of the conclusion: "Being gay is a blessing... This discovery is an important part of spiritual maturation. As we understand how blessed we are, we begin to put out good vibes. When we realize that being gay is drawing a long straw in this life, we can forgive the world. We can accept things as they are with all the pain and loss that goes with being human. And when we do that we change the world" (p. 259).

It is clear from this book's premise (and that of the companion volume, GAY PERSPECTIVE: Things Our Homosexuality Tells Us About the Nature of God and the Universe), that Johnson is offer viable and life-changing alternatives for people, both gay and straight, to understand the search for a meaningful spirituality. This is a wonderful book to assist in that search. ~Lori L. Lake, reviewer for The Independent Gay Writer and Midwest Book Review

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars give me more like this one please!, August 23, 2000

By 

Matt (Bettendorf, Iowa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gay Spirituality : The Role of Gay Identity in the Transformation of Human Consciousness (Paperback)

With religious beliefs and homosexuality tendencies being at the forefront of all my waking hours, I found this book quick, interesting and wonderfully insightful. -> Do yourself a favor and give it a read!!!