The longest running LGBTQ Christian podcast, the first explicitly queer Christian platform, a message reaching around the world, Brian & Fr. Shay have been preaching the good news of the queer gospel since 2013.

Brian and Fr. Shay met in New York in one of those friend of a friend serendipitious moments.Through a couple years of Skype conversations, text messaging, and personal activism they realized that they could do a lot more if they worked together! Both have been changed and strengthened by their queer identities and wanted to share that strength with others. They started queertheology.com in 2013.

Together, they’ve started and broken open conversations around

Purity culture
Sex-positivity
Queer bodies
Transgender theology
The interplay between Queer activism and faith-based activism
Christianity & Polyamory
and more

Their message has reached over 1,000,000 people in over 200 countries through their website, podcast, and videos.

More than that, it’s inspired a new way to talk about gender, sexuality, and justice by others such as the #FaithfullyLGBT conversation, the Queerology podcast, Queerly Beloved tees, the Our Bible App, and more. They have forever changed the public discourse around queerness and Christianity.

Fr. Shay, Brian, and QueerTheology.com have been featured in

Fr. Shay & Brian brought a message of hope to our group. Their demeanor and knowledge helped many who were struggling with queer theology to see its place in the church and the importance of sharing it from the pulpit. The youth & young adults who attended have been more engaged in their own study of scripture and several pastors have really made a difference in how they approach scripture and its effect on their entire congregation.

Thanks to you, I've understood that faith and sexuality are not separate and distinct, but rather intertwined into our human experience of God and the world.

As a married gay man and priest of the Episcopal Church, I would like to thank you for your contribution to GLBT safety in the wider society and the church. And for reminding us of the safety and freedom to love as God has given us the ability to do.

Fr. Kearns has the gift of going deep on technical topics through his use of stories that not only facilitate learning but also create connections in multiple ways. Breakthrough moments for personal growth happen when Fr. Kearns is speaking. And we all are grateful.

Looking for a place to start?

At Queer Theology we’ve developed a ton of resources over the years. On this page we’ve got them organized by topic so you can find exactly what you’re looking for exactly when you need it. From asking if it’s okay to be LGBTQ to navigating sex and relationships to finding a church. You need support? Start here.

There’s more! From coming out, to dealing with unaffirming family, to sex and relationships, and more! We’ve got a bunch more resources organized by topic on Resources page.

ABOUT US

Shannon TL Kearns

Father Shannon TL Kearns is a seminary graduate (M.Div 2009 from Union Theological Seminary in the city of New York).

A former fundamentalist who became the first openly transgender man ordained to the Old Catholic priesthood, Shannon believes in the transformative power of story. As an ordained priest, a playwright, a theologian, and a writer all of his work revolves around making meaning through story. He is the co-founder of QueerTheology.com. His first book In the Margins: A Transgender Man’s Journey With Scripture just released from Eerdmaan’s books. He started and led Uprising Theatre Company for 6 years.

Shannon is a Humanitas New Voices Fellow for 2022 and was a recipient of the Playwrights’ Center Jerome Fellowship in 20/21 and he was a Lambda Literary Fellow for 2019 (in playwriting) and 2022 (in screenwriting) and a Finnovation Fellow for 2019/2020. He is a sought after speaker on transgender issues and religion as well as a skilled facilitator of a variety of workshops.

Brian G. Murphy

Brian G. Murphy is a Jewish queer sacred storyteller who works as an activist, educator, and certified life & relationship coach. He studied film production and religion at the University of Southern California as a Presidential Scholar and was inducted into Theta Alpha Kappa, the national honor society for religious studies and theology.

Before turning to activism, Brian worked in Hollywood on a number of film and television projects and produced a pilot for a national broadcast network. He received nonviolence training through Soulforce, media training from GLAAD, and participated in the 2007 Equality Ride, engaging in direct action activism at anti-LGBTQ colleges in the USA.

Today he is the co-founder of QueerTheology.com, a resource hub, podcast, and online community, which explores how queerness and spirituality enrich one another; and Relationshift, a relationship coaching practice helping LGBTQ+ and polyamorous people build thriving relationships on their own terms.

He is co-author of Queers The Word and a sought-after speaker at colleges, churches, and conferences across the country. Brian has worked with GLSEN, Athlete Ally, Born This Way Foundation, and the Human Rights Campaign, as well as a number of local, grassroots organizations. His work has been featured in Vice, BuzzFeed, The Huffington Post, The Advocate, Upworthy, and NBC News.