Unnatural
Reviewed by: Jeremy Lambson
Bibliographic Information: Murr, Rachel. Unnatural: Spirituality in Queer Christian Women. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2014. 164 pages. $15.20. ISBN: 9781625647405.
Content Warnings: trauma, mental health; church hurt
Unnatural: Spirituality in Queer Christian Women by Rachel Murr seeks to create a stronger community of Queer people who hold a religious faith through the breaking of silence. She argues that silence is one of the biggest enemies facing the LGBTQ+ community. For Queer people, silence can give a sense of loneliness, both from community and self. For the wider community, silence can suggest a level of rarity or taboo nature of Queer people that pushes us toward the shadows rather than away from them. Later, Murr points out that silence is often the cue that Queer people take from family, friends and other neighbors, believing their Queer identity is unacceptable and it is unsafe to come out. In understanding the damaging effect that silence has on the Queer community, Murr tells the stories of twelve Queer people (including herself) to show the complexities and uniqueness, as well as the resemblances, that many Queer people face while navigating spirituality and faith.
Unnatural reads like a research report with a personality. Each story Murr tells is based on interviews and conversations she had with other Queer people in coffee shops and cafés in Minnesota. Although the book is the fruits of this research project, rather than telling each story individually, Murr has organized the pages efficiently by categorizing each chapter by common threads found in some or all the people she met. The first several chapters are a bit of a rollercoaster. There are moments of joy, laughter, and acceptance, but frankly, there are many more encounters with deep pain and rejection. Issues including toxic home and church environments, ex-gay ministries, the unjust practices in media and politics, navigating a Queer and Christian identity, mental health, experiencing and avoiding different types of violence, broken relationships, and dealing with unacceptance in the Christian church make up the first two thirds of the book. By chapter nine, you wonder if it is ever going to get better.
Thankfully, the last few chapters are dedicated to just that. Finding community, acceptance, and love from God and those who do support the LGBTQ community make up the rest of the book. Murr shares advice that was offered to her by these Queer people on how to maintain faith while being Queer, as well as offering her own words of wisdom. Revisiting and finding affirming truth in scripture, making spirituality our own, and listening to what God is telling us while recognizing that it is God who we worship and not the people who wrongfully exclude us on God’s authority. By transitioning from the difficulties to the comforts that these Queer people have experienced with faith, Murr successfully breaks the silence twofold: she is able to call out the injustice that Queer people experience in the Christian church, and she demonstrates—notwithstanding those who seek to exclude and persecute Queer people in the church— how Queer people can come to know the God who loves, accepts, supports, and affirms who they are as Queer.
The method that Murr uses is affective in showing the challenging nature of holding on to a personal faith while dealing with pain associated with that religiosity by being in contact with religion, God continues to accept, love, and work through their lives. These testimonies of faith are some of the strongest affirmations of faith and Queer identities that I have ever come across. I believe that Murr has accomplished her goal of breaking down the silence by telling these stories. In doing so, the reader is encouraged to share their story and testimony as well.
Unnatural is largely made up of stories that come from Queer women, with one exception of a Transgender man, Lawrence. Murr explains this inclusion as not making much sense, because he has always felt like a man (p.10). However, because he has navigated parts of his life as both genders, and because transgender people are often caught in the worst disparities against Queer people, his story is incredibly important. Telling his story helps break the silence, and helps readers understand the power of transformation and finding acceptance in yourself. If there is one thing missing from the book, perhaps it is the perspective of a Transgender woman given that the experience of Trans women is much different from Trans men, given the patriarchal nature of our society.
Each story Murr presents is very different. The people are made up of different races and ethnicities, come from different church backgrounds, and are originally from all over the United States. There are some that received wide acceptance and support from friends and family, and those that received the opposite. The strongest connections across the stories Murr presents is the call to share God’s love and acceptance with the rest of the Queer community, and the comfort that comes from finding good news in the Gospel (p.131). Observances made suggested a stronger connection with God at the point of self-acceptance and love, and despite the exclusions, never feeling abandoned by God. It is noted that when confronted with toxic environments and people, often the best thing to do is leave, even if it is painful. These stories and the advice found within them provide hope for those at the beginning of their stories.
Unnatural can be difficult to read and one should exercise caution if personal experiences of trauma are related to the text. Approaching issues that may affect mental health should always be done responsibly. Understanding that Unnatural takes on some unbelievably difficult topics, the stories of Queer people that are told by Murr can be incredibly helpful for any Queer person who has experienced religion in a harmful way. Those who are looking for community and guidance on how to navigate a personal relationship with God that transcends the harmful actions people unfortunately perpetuate will find help in this book. Additionally, this book is a tremendously helpful resource to friends and family of Queer people who want to understand how to be a better ally and what words and actions can be hurtful or helpful to Queer people and to gain a better grasp on what Queer people experience.