Navigating Queerness and Christianity: The “Good Christian” Myth in Dutch Christian Student Associations

Abstract

In this bachelor thesis I investigate how normative ideas about what it means to be a “good Christian” contribute to the exclusion of queer members of Dutch Christian student associations. I conducted a critical discourse analysis of the Medewerkersprofiel (“employees’ profile”) that is used to guide interviews when members of any of the Navigators student associations apply for a leadership position. This analysis shows that while the document recognizes that Christianity is not a monolith but a diverse set of traditions and faith practices, nevertheless it presents one right way of ‘doing’ Christianity. The Christian ideals of marriage and remaining a virgin until marriage are prioritized over other values. Virginity becomes a symbol for religious commitment and the highest demand made on Christians related to being a “good Christian”. Yet the definitions of sex and virginity exclude queer people and result in a “grey area” in which what is deemed right and what is deemed wrong is unclear. Throughout the document the body and sexuality are portrayed as the ‘sites’ on which the exemplary (leadership)function is performed. The document fails to address that rules concerning bodies are gendered. In order to uncover how the document is put into practice and how its normative ideas impact the lives of queer Christians, I conducted interviews with queer members of these associations. My analysis demonstrates that the implementation of the document is considered ‘unchristian’ by the participants, as it determines how people should behave sexually and condemns those that do not abide by its rules. Rejection through an interview on the basis of the document leaves a participant feeling like she fails the “good Christian” ideal. While the participants reject this ideal, they implicitly show normative ideas concerning what it means to be a “good queer”. The normative ideal for queer Christians generated mostly by heterosexual Christians, of a “non-practicing”, celibate lifestyle, is rejected by the participants because queerness is not solely a set of actions, it is an identity. While Christianity and queerness are often constructed as contradicting one another, this research provides insight into the navigation of the two identities in the case of queer members of Dutch Christian student associations.