By centering beliefs that are often problematically labelled as “New Age,” “Cults,” “Spirituality,” or other derogatory terms, the panel considers the fascinating potential for queering the very concept of “religion.” The papers in the panel explore four different sets of religious communities and practices, each within their own unique context but all on the margins of Religious Studies, to reveal how the concept of religion can be queered and some potential future possibilities this queering holds. The panel argues for a model of queerness that extends beyond sexuality and gender to include a variety of cultural, historical, and religious iterations. This queering seeks to unite Religious Studies with some communities, spiritual traditions, and spaces too often forgotten by the discipline. The panel poses the question of what the future may look like when we queer dominant and restrictive conceptions of religion in the present using religious beliefs from the margins?
Drawing on Homi K. Bhabha’s postcolonial theory of hybridity, the paper proposes the concept of a “virtual-sacred hybridity” to argue that Indian tarot channels on YouTube exemplify a hybridity at multiple levels: a) sacred hybridity where Tarot readers incorporate and synthesize elements from different religions and spiritual traditions, b) linguistic hybridity as seen in Tarot channels that combine different languages and cultural idioms, and c) spatial hybridity where online Tarot functions within a liminal, virtual space between the analog and the transcendental space. Based on case study and content analysis, the paper further contends that the hybridity of online Tarot remains embedded in queerness just as queerness embraces hybridity by challenging heteronormative binaries. The online blending of Tarot and Tantra offers insights into how digital platforms allow space for non-majoritarian, spiritual practices even though content creators remain governed by the market logic of algorithm, revenue production, and consumption
There is a substantial gap when looking for religious research about the micro-blogging social media site Tumblr and its unique communities. This is especially true for supposedly “new age” spiritual practices and beliefs like those associated with witches, mystics, crystal girlies, druids, Wicca, and other related practices. Yet Tumblr’s affordances have empowered Neopaganism to spread on the site and provided a new spiritual home for many users who have been harmed by or feel negatively about mainstream religions. Thus, by studying the nuances of how Neopaganism functions on Tumblr, and how Tumblr’s own affordances empower it to flourish, the papers offers insights into how scholars of religion can gain new information that queers established conceptions of what is or is not “religion” while presenting effective ways for mainstream religions like Christianity to readdress themselves in the future by embracing the nonhierarchical values that vulnerable populations find and appreciate in Neopaganism.
The paper explores ideas of future reclamation of the witch as a feminine symbol of power and uses Florence Welch as a case study of witchcraft as power, activism, and search for a better more just future. Through the exploration of lyrics and imagery in music videos, discussion of Welch’s activism, and embracing of the unconventional, this presentation will argue for Florence Welch as an example of witchcraft unlike the stories of the past. By critically reading Mariam Kaba, Kelly Hayes, other activists on the ground, the paper compares witchcraft as a modern-day movement of collective power. It further addresses the themes of wildness and reclamation of ancient traditions in the movement to embrace a historical witch as inherently powerful and feminine. The paper approaches “the witch” as a queer figure that rejects the heteronormative values of patriarchy and childbearing to instill a sense of independence in a postmodern world.
The religious use of hallucinogenic mushrooms has been around for centuries, yet upon the “discovery” of the Americas these Indigenous practices were erased from history; but some survived underground where they eventually become incorporated into US mushroom/psychedelic churches. Through the use of textual and literary analysis, the paper examines the history of mushrooms in Mexico by comparing scholars that study sacraments in religious spaces. It further dives into the emergence of two mushroom churches in the US: The Divine Assembly and Psanctuary. The paper then discusses the role of mushrooms in each church and ends with the legal implications of the use of mushrooms in these churches. The paper argues that despite these churches’ attempt to subvert Eurochristianity, their use of mushrooms as sacraments fits in with neoshamanism which is the appropriation of Indigenous rituals and ought to be avoided when queering religion in the future.