For many in the LGBTQ+ community—and particularly within the Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC)—the conventional narrative around conservative Christianity and homosexuality feels set in stone. We are often told that evangelicalism has always been fiercely antigay, and that its opposition to LGBTQ+ people is an inherent, unchanging feature of its theology.

However, a groundbreaking new book by religious studies scholar William Stell upends this assumption and reclaims a critical chapter of our shared history.

In Born Again Queer: A History of Evangelical Gay Activism and the Making of Antigay Christianity (Princeton University Press), Stell uncovers a forgotten era in the 1970s and 1980s when a vibrant network of gay-affirming evangelical authors, ministers, and scholars actively challenged the church from within. Among the core figures highlighted in the book is our very own founder, Rev. Troy Perry, who launched MCC in 1968, alongside Ralph Blair (founder of Evangelicals Concerned) and evangelical feminist authors Letha Scanzoni and Virginia Mollenkott.

Stell’s meticulous research reveals that during this period, the future of evangelicalism was far from settled. Anti-LGBTQ+ theology was not an inevitable outcome; rather, it was constructed, contested, and fiercely debated. By recovering this history, Born Again Queer reminds us that queer religious resistance has deep roots and that the language of faith has long been leveraged to fight for liberation.

Praise for Born Again Queer

Distinguished historians and scholars have celebrated Stell’s work for its profound insights into religion, sexuality, and the American culture wars:

“A groundbreaking, erudite, and utterly fascinating history of gay evangelical theology and activism in the 1970s and 1980s. Stell’s revelatory study brings a hidden chapter of queer history to life and challenges our understanding of evangelicalism itself.”—George Chauncey, author of Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890–1940

“William Stell’s Born Again Queer offers a fascinating exploration of the personalities, theological debates, and moral arguments that made homosexuality a defining issue for modern American evangelicalism…. this richly detailed and beautifully written book shows that the very meaning of ‘evangelical’ became, after the late 1970s, increasingly tied to antigay animus cloaked in theological purity. In rescuing a lost history of evangelical gay activism, Stell provides a far more complex and contested story about the origins of the culture wars than scholars previously assumed.”—Rebecca L. Davis, author of Fierce Desires: A New History of Sex and Sexuality in America

Special Discount for the MCC Community

Through a special partnership with Princeton University Press, members and friends of Metropolitan Community Church can purchase Born Again Queer at a 30% discount.

• Discount Code: STELL30
• Details: 30% off Born Again Queer (ISBN: 9780691268941)
• How to Order: Access the book directly via Princeton University Press. Simply enter the code STELL30 in the shopping cart where “Apply Discount Code” is noted, and 30% will be subtracted from your order total.