Many religious institutions in the U.S. get associated with conservatism. Several queer spiritual leaders around Atlanta push back against that perception.
“We don’t have to accept this far-right ideology as the only Christian voice in the United States,” Reverend Michael J. Schulte (he/him) said. “It’s the loudest one, but it’s not the only one.”
Schulte is part of the Collective, a recently established Lutheran worship group in Atlanta’s Virginia Highlands neighborhood. In March, Schulte attended the Pride to the Capitol rally with around 25 parishioners, meeting with state legislators and advocating against bills that harm the LGBTQ+ community with several other activist groups.
“We go to debriefing with these activist groups afterwards, and you have people say, ‘I’m here because my church is here,’” Schulte said. “People in these groups say, ‘Oh, I didn’t know churches would come to something like this,’ or, ‘I didn’t know that there were churches that included trans people,’” which highlights the other progressive voices in Christianity.
The Collective also hosts StoryGroups, which are informal, biweekly, identity-based gatherings, including ones for LGBTQ+ individuals in Atlanta and Johns Creek. “It’s a place where you can be known, and … loved, no matter what your identity is, no matter what your faith looks like,” Schulte said. “People want to know the real you.”
Activism as a Vehicle to Change Policy
Reverend Andi Woodworth (she/they) works at Neighborhood Church, a Methodist parish in Lake Claire which embraces “the whole spectrum of humanity, all the queer identities that we could name, and all the ones that we didn’t even know about,” Woodworth said. “We believe that God made all of us, that God loves all of us, and that God asks for all of us to treat each other with dignity and respect and love and justice.”
She once led morning prayers in the Georgia legislature and regularly speaks out on legislation and to advocate for progressive Christians. “There’s a lot of different perspectives within Christianity, and not all of them want to erase queer identities and queer stories.”
Woodworth sees activism as a vehicle to change policy, and uses her faith to guide that activism. “If nothing else, it goes on the record, and they have to look at us while they vote on their things. I’m not sure what impact it makes,” Woodworth said, “but I do think from time to time, there are moments where somebody has their perspective changed.”
Religion, Science, and Inclusivity
Reverend Jean Bell (she/her) is the associate minister of Spiritual Care Living of Atlanta, which bridges religion and science through philosophy. “One of our main slogans is that you belong and that you are whole, perfect and complete,” Bell said. “You’ve never been a sinner. You’ve never been damaged because you are LGBTQIA,” Schulte said. “That is just how spirit is expressing through you.”
Bell’s congregation has attended Moral Mondays: A Southern Call to Conscience, a protest movement across the South involving faith leaders and elected leaders. “We want to get to the conscience of the people that we have elected to represent us and let them know we do not approve and our voices count,” Bell said.
Letting representatives know what people want — a living wage, health care — is what activism achieves, according to Bell.
“And I know that sometimes people get tired and sometimes people think, what’s the point? But you can’t stop. You’ve got to find that strength,” Bell said. “When we practice our spiritual practices, when we do those things, we are buoyed up in that strength to continue not to fight, but to bring light to that which is in the dark.”