Verbannen gelovigen; mechanismen die leiden tot uitsluiting van homoseksuelen in hedendaagse pentecostale kerken

Abstract

Homosexuals are still excluded from contemporary Pentecostal churches. The mechanisms that lead to this exclusion become visible in the religious discourse of a community and can be shown in the political and affective workings. In this research I will show how these mechanics of exclusion work. The question I will answer with this thesis is: which political, affective, and religious discursive workings in contemporary Pentecostal churches contribute to the exclusion of homosexuals from the church community? To answer this question correctly I will first describe Pentecostal spirituality. Next I will give a historical perspective on the concepts of heterosexuality and homosexuality as identities. After this theoretical frame I will describe the religious discourse of the Pentecostal church ‘Christengemeente Sefanja’ at Harderwijk (The Netherlands). I will use this community as an exemplary model. In an anthropological way I will describe the empirical research I have done, and which consists of participating observations of different meetings, and of interviews with church members. After this critical discourse analysis I will compare this with the conceptual theories of Sigmund Freud, René Girard and Giorgio Agamben. These theories will give insight in the question how the religious discourse of Pentecostal communities eventually leads to the exclusion of homosexuals. With this research I will show that contemporary Pentecostal churches banish homosexuality from their community as if it were a taboo which can impossibly be in their system of beliefs and to which they do not assign any space. The banishment of homosexuals happens most of all true the creation of different, closely connected dichotomies. These are maintained by the political power structures and are expressed in the religious discourse through affective workings. Thus homosexuals are treated as homo sacer, after the theory of Agamben. They are the holy taboo, banished as exception which cannot be part of the community to which it belongs.