Digital Devotions
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DIGITAL DEVOTIONS: CONSTRUCTING SEXUAL AND SPIRITUAL IDENTITIES THROUGH QUEER SAINT NARRATIVES ONLINE By David Lyle Givens Bachelor of Arts (Religious Studies), University of Central Florida, 2008 Bachelor of Arts (Philosophy), University of Central Florida, 2008 Master of Arts, University of Pittsburgh, 2010 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2018 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH KENNETH P. DIETRICH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by David Lyle Givens It was defended on November 15, 2018 and approved by Dr. Clark Chilson, Associate Professor, Department of Religious Studies Dr. Rachel Kranson, Associate Professor, Department of Religious Studies Dr. Todd Reeser, Professor, Department of French and Italian; Director of the Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies Program Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Paula Kane, Professor and John and Lucine O’Brien Marous Chair of Contemporary Catholic Studies, Department of Religious Studies ii Copyright © by David Lyle Givens 2018 iii DIGITAL DEVOTIONS: CONSTRUCTING SEXUAL AND SPIRITUAL IDENTITIES THROUGH QUEER SAINT NARRATIVES ONLINE David Givens, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2018 This dissertation is a digitally-based ethnographic study examining narratives by and about sexual and gender minorities (SGM) around saint veneration and discourse. Online forums and blogs are an easily accessible and safe space that both SGM and their detractors are increasingly utilizing. The current study, a 2016 to 2018 assessment of websites, blogs, forums, and an online Roman Catholic support group, demonstrates that within online platforms, various authors and communities are using Christian saints to interpret and construct components of SGM religious and sexual identities and their intersections with theological, cultural, and socio-political concerns. Couched within the context of the intersecting histories of sexual and gender minorities experience and religious venerative traditions in America, this work highlights English-speaking online communities and assesses common themes and uses of saints among these sites, unpacking the ways in which they contribute to specific narratives and subjective, relational experiences. Specifically, Digital Devotions finds that communities are using saint symbolism to express their spirituality, model ideas or behaviors, or experience components of both individual subjectivity and group identity. These demarcations range from queer subjectivity and/or gender identity to religious expression and other political or cultural affiliations. Historically, hagiographies have never been written with historical accuracy or empirical plausibility as their primary concern. Now, contested saint narratives are found among iv communities who use them to promote heteronormative relationships and denounce queer lives but even more frequently in communities promoting queer and affirming interpretations of saints and legitimizing diverse sexual and gender identities. Examining these parallel efforts through lenses of queer studies, camp, and rhetorical and cultural analysis, the dissertation primarily contributes to the academic fields of queer studies and lived religion. Within these disciplines, new roles imagined for saints speak to the ongoing salience of subjectivity as a queer way of relating to experience and culture as well as the ongoing innovation occurring in and with Catholic traditions. These findings have speak to subversive saint narratives’ potential to reduce or perpetuate social and ecclesiastic stigma and contribute to larger social narratives in American society. v Table of Contents LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... viii PREFACE ...................................................................................................................................... xi 1.0 SAINTS IN CONTEXT ...................................................................................................... 1 1.1 TERMINOLOGY ...................................................................................................... 6 1.2 SAINTS IN AMERICAN RELIGIOUS SETTINGS .............................................. 15 1.2.1 The Modern History of Roman Catholic Devotionalism ............................. 17 1.2.2 The Salience of Independent Catholic and Orthodox Catholic Denominations ......................................................................................................... 28 1.2.3 Contemporary Saints in American Culture .................................................. 33 1.3 AMERICAN RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS AND SGM COMMUNITIES ......... 47 1.3.1 SGM Lived Religion in (and outside of) Catholic Communities ................ 49 1.3.2 Roman Catholic Authority and Censorship .................................................... 57 1.3.3 Examples of Lived Religion for SGM Catholics ............................................ 70 2.0 CONTEXTUALIZING SGM NARRATIVES FOR SAINTS ......................................... 75 2.1 DEFINITIONS ......................................................................................................... 76 2.1.1 Inclusivist communities ............................................................................... 84 2.1.2 Exclusivist communities ............................................................................ 101 2.2 ONLINE SITES AND COMMUNITIES .............................................................. 116 vi 2.2.1. Digital ethnography ..................................................................................... 116 2.2.3 Inclusivist communities online .................................................................. 126 2.2.4 Exclusivist communities online ................................................................. 133 2.3 THE PHYSICAL AND THE VIRTUAL .............................................................. 137 3.0 ANALYSIS: SAINTS AND SEXUAL IDENTITY IN DIGITAL SPACES ................ 142 3.1 QUEER SPIRITUALITY ......................................................................................... 146 3.2 PRESCRIBING SAINTS AS ROLE MODELS....................................................... 155 3.3 SANCTIFYING EXPERIENCE: QUEERING SAINTS ......................................... 173 3.3.1 Experiencing Place and History .................................................................... 183 3.3.2 Camp: At the Intersection of Catholic and Queer ......................................... 191 3.4 OTHER MOTIVATIONS ........................................................................................ 198 3.4.1 Political and Cultural .................................................................................... 198 3.4.2 Access to Authority/Tradition....................................................................... 205 3.5 SUMMARIZING SUBJECTIVITY AND IDENTITY ............................................ 209 4.0 CONCLUSIONS: DOING RELIGION .......................................................................... 212 4.1 ACADEMIC SIGNIFICANCE ............................................................................. 214 4.2 CRITICAL THEORY AND SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE ...................................... 217 4.3. AVENUES FOR FURTHER STUDY................................................................... 219 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................... 223 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. As one of the sites in this study, Q Spirit’s splash page for its Queer Saints Series ably demonstrates one way in which saints are both ancient and contemporary symbols for exploring contemporary concerns and issues. ............................................................................................... 16 Figure 2. Works such as Sophie Iremonger’s consciously combine classical poses and iconography representative of saints (in this case, St. George and the dragon) with contemporary materials and subject matter. Saint Judy Garland Damning the Monster to the Depths of Hell (2007). ........................................................................................................................................... 38 Figure 3. The Q Spirit Homepage is divided into the four kinds of resources available to visitors: discussions of saints, queer spirituality, book recommendations and reviews, and a calendar of saints and SGM-friendly holiday resources. http://Q Spirit.net/................................................... 87 Figure 4. The top section of the Queer Saints and Martyrs splash page is both organized by time period and designed to highlight popular articles. http://saints.queerchurch.info ........................ 90 Figure 5. The TransChristians.org homepage, including the In Memoriam to the original author at the bottom. ................................................................................................................................ 92 Figure 6. The Quest homepage and its scrolling banner emphasize events, resources, and spiritual reflections. http://questlgbti.uk ..................................................................................................... 96 Figure 7. The Temple of Antinous Homepage (http://www.antinopolis.org/) is designed to be vivid, outlining the various facets of the group’s spirituality.