Soulforce

We are Queer people reclaiming our spirits from weaponized religion. 

Please donate today to our cause.

We are proud of our twenty-five year legacy of relentlessly resisting the political and religious oppression of LGBTQIA+ people.  Our team continues the work that was started a quarter century ago by Soulforce founders, Rev Dr Mel White and Gary Nixon. We remain steadfast in our belief that Queer Liberation will grow from the seeds that were planted by our ancestors and which we have been tirelessly tending.

We know that speaking of hope or even pride in these times may feel artificial or disconnected from reality. The number of anti-trans legislative attacks, book bans, health discrimination, and Spiritual Violence is terrifying for most of us. And yet, ours is not hope based simply on vain optimism but on more than 25 years of experience and political analysis.

Soulforce is still here. We are growing in size and we want you to join us. 

Can you donate today to ensure the continuation of innovative community healing? 

Soulforce is here to support LGBTQIA+ people along their healing and spiritual reclamation journeys. Many of our event participants come to us after years of enduring a suffocating system that demands heteronormativity and submission. Soulforce staff and community members are able to offer connection and empathy through our own lived experiences. Our power will always transcend their institutions. We will always find ways to reach authenticity. They won’t be able to eradicate our joy, it has been growing roots for generations. 

We will have Queer liberation. 

It is happening.

Examples of recent workshops, events, and resource publications:

🎭Church of the Queerly Beloved, community event. The first Culto Cuir (or Church of the Queerly Beloved) took place in Bogotá, Colombia in July 2023 at an iconic gay bar. The second one was in Quito, Ecuador in a reclaimed school turned community art hub. We brought our offerings, the more traditional elements of a church service, but with a Queer swivel. We open with prayers by Queer pastors and close with an “altar call” where we, faith leaders and psychologists, stand before the altar and offer symbolic repentance for past harms perpetuated by mental health and church institutions.

🍉Christians for a Free Palestine at the US Capitol, event partner. Soulforce Executive Director, Rev Sex, joined Christians for Free Palestine to demand from US Senators a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, to restore humanitarian aid, and to end military funding to Israel. Giving up isn't an option right now, and hiding isn't the alternative. We have hope, and we have a plan. We will continue to provide sharp analytical resources to bolster the work of social justice activists as we continue to sabotage the institutions of power that perpetuate the subjugation of vulnerable populations.

🌈Spirit Resource Library, online resources. Soulforce has an extensive history of publishing longform resources that offer pointed discussions of how theological teachings have been co opted and twisted to enforce political and social oppressions of LGBTQIA+ and other marginalized peoples.  Our resources have been introduced in university and college classrooms by professors who affirm the value and importance of these publications for addressing social justice issues related to religion and sexuality. To date, we are aware of our resources being used as required reading in classrooms at Loyola University Chicago, Syracuse University, and Vanderbilt University. Our Spirit Resource Library is available in multiple languages and downloadable online for free. 

✊Ten Reasons to Relentlessly Resist all forms of Conversion Therapy, blog post. To achieve better mental health outcomes for LGBTQIA+ people demands that mental health practitioners have an increased understanding of the impacts of colonization, heteronormativity, and weaponized religion on a LGBTQIA+ person’s psychological wellbeing. This includes a requirement of practitioners to understand the deep psychological effects from experiences of church sanctioned violence in conversion therapy. Our Spirits Unyielding bilingual blog is available online.

💫Teología Sin Vergüenza Season 7, Digital media project. Our community of Sinvergüenzas continues to expand across borders! Our Spanish-language digital media project, Teología Sin Vergüenza, loosely translated to Shameless Theology, completed its seventh season. This project began in the midst of the 2020 pandemic during a very unsettling time. We are proud of the resilience of our team and our community of Sinvergüenzas which now totals over 70 featured guests and 6,000 followers on Facebook and Instagram.

What people are saying about Soulforce:

"What I find useful about these materials is that they are so open and engaging for students." - Syracuse University Professor

"Wow! Amazing beautiful intelligent people!" - Workshop participant

Soulforce is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. EIN 33-0782888