The relationship between religion and sexuality is often framed as inherently conflictual. But what actually happens when religion and sexuality converge in contemporary contexts? This provocative volume goes beyond the familiar debates over toleration and accommodation to explore the ways in which various forms of religious affiliation and sexual identity do, in fact, co-exist. Drawing on interviews and analyzing media representations, legislation, and public discourse on topics such as education, economics, and same-sex marriage in North America and the United Kingdom, this book foregrounds the complexity and multiplicity of religious and sexual identities and practices.

Pamela Dickey Young is a professor in the School of Religion at Queen’s University. Her research interests concern the intersections of religion, sex, gender, and public policy. Selected publications include Religion, Sex and Politics: Christian Churches and Same-Sex Marriage in Canada (Fernwood Publishing, 2012); “It’s All About Sex: The Opposition of some Canadian Churches to Gay and Lesbian Marriages,” in Faith, Politics, and Sexual Diversity in Canada and the United States, (UBC Press, 2011); and Women and Religious Traditions, 3rd edition, edited with Leona Anderson (Oxford University Press, 2014).

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Heather Shipley is a project manager for the Religion and Diversity Project and she teaches part-time at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University. Her research focuses on the construction, management, and regulation of religion, gender, sexuality, and sexual orientation as identity categories in law, policy, and public discourse. Publications include “Human Rights, Sexuality and Religion: Between Policy and Identity,” Canadian Diversity 9(3) (2012); “Fairies, Mermaids, Mothers and Princesses: Sexual Difference and Gender Roles in Peter Pan,” Studies in Gender and Sexuality 13(2) (2012); and “One of These Things Is Not Like the Other: Regulating Sexual Difference,” in Reasonable Accommodation: Managing Religious Diversity edited by L. Beaman (UBC Press, 2012).

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Tracy J. Trothen is an associate professor of ethics and theology at the Queen’s University School of Religion. She is also a clinical pastoral education supervisor certified by the Canadian Association of Spiritual Care. Trothen is the author of numerous publications including Linking Sexuality and Gender: Naming Violence Against Women in the United Church of Canada ( Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2003) and Shattering the Illusion: Child Sexual Abuse Policies and Canadian Religious Institutions ( Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2012). Her current research is in the area of religion, sport, and enhancement.

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