Article In:
Journal of Language and SexualityVol. 14:1 (2025) ► pp.92–116
A double — edged sword
Inclusive religious discourse and LGBTQIA+ prescriptivism in a Brazilian contemporary Christian church
This article examines Brazil’s LGBTQIA+ Inclusive Churches movement, focusing on the online discourse of the
Igreja Cristã Contemporânea (“Contemporary Christian Church”), supposedly the country’s most welcoming
religious space for LGBTQIA+ individuals. Employing a Foucauldian Critical Discourse Analysis, it studies how the church’s
discourse can help naturalize normative ideas of LGBTQIA+ identities. Data is retrieved from the church’s website, a series of
eight YouTube videos, and their comment sections. Results indicate that despite welcoming LGBTQIA+ believers and acting as an
inclusive religious space, the church follows prescriptive behaviors rooted in cis — het and homonormativity. Regardless of its
LGBTQIA+ positive self — representation and ingroup affirmation approach, the church propagates a “queer” discourse embedded in
traditional beliefs toward sexual relationships and practices, marriage, and parochial obedience.
Keywords: critical discourse analysis, Inclusive Churches, Brazil, identity prescriptivism, heteronormativity, homonormativity
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Previous studies
- 3.Theoretical Framework
- 4.Methodology
- 5.Data analysis and discussion
- 5.1Who is Marcos Gladstone?
- 5.2How should an ICC Christian be?
- 5.3ICC’s “queer” discourse, a double — edged sword
- 6.Conclusion
- Acknowledgments
- Notes
- Author queries
-
References
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