This book is a dedicated academic study of Amplify, a series of open and affirming Christian Conferences in Asia that provides spaces of worship, support, fellowship, collaboration and networking for LGBTIQ-affirming churches. Through a detailed analysis of narratives from fourteen Amplify frontliners comprising co-founders, hosts, organisers, co-organisers, speakers, consultants and other active contributors, this volume chronicles the historical development of Amplify from its 2009 inception in Singapore to subsequent occurrences in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and, most recently, Taiwan in 2018. Written at the intersection of gender, sexuality and theology, the focus of this volume lies in the construction of Asian LGBTIQ ecclesiologies that emanate from, and speak to the theological vision of doing church at Amplify. 

Amplify invites us to rethink what the unity, holiness, catholicity and apostolicity of the church is, and its relation to human flourishing. Goh’s book provides us with a critical appreciation of this ecclesiologically significant Christian LGBTIQ grassroots movement which is often imperceptible in mainstream Christianity. – Lap Yan Kung, Associate Professor, Divinity School of Chung Chi College, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

An engaging historical, reflective and theological account of a significant emerging movement in Christianity across Asia, Doing Church at the Amplify Open and Affirming Conferences provides an important record of a developing ecclesial network that is open and accepting of people who identify as LGBTIQ and Christian. – Rev. Dr Anita Monro, Honorary Research Senior Fellow, School of History & Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland, Australia

---

Goh, J. N. (2021). Doing church at the Amplify open and affirming conferences: Queer ecclesiologies in Asia. Palgrave Macmillan.

Download an excerpt

This book explores the fluid, mutable and contingent ways in which transgender men in Malaysia construct their subjectivities. Against the dearth of academic resources on Malaysian trans men, this ground-breaking monograph is rooted in the lived experiences of Malaysian trans men whose vicissitudes have mostly been hidden, silenced and overlooked. Comprising diverse age groups, ethnicities, socio-economic status, educational backgrounds and religious persuasions, these trans men reveal how they navigate life in a country with secular and religious laws that criminalise their embodiments, and the strategies they deploy to achieve self-determination and self-actualisation despite being perceived as aberrant and sinful. This book demonstrates how negotiations with constitutive elements such as gender identity, social interaction, citizenship, legality, bodily struggle, medical transitioning and personal spiritual validation condition the becomings of Malaysian trans men. 

Goh’s nuanced study ‘unsilences’ the voices of trans men in Malaysia to highlight how they navigate social, medical, and religious norms in the process of ‘becoming’ their self-affirmed identity. This sophisticated, engaging and respectfully written book is essential reading for transgender studies researchers and anyone interested in the complexity of gender in Southeast Asia and beyond. – Helen Hok-Sze Leung, Professor of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies, Simon Fraser University, BC, Canada

The exceptionally rich data is narrated with much care to enable the stories of this marginalised group to be respectfully and joyfully heard. This is a unique contribution to trans studies and sociological research on gender, identity, sexuality and embodiment. It is also a wonderful example of intersectional research methods … a very powerful read. – Sally Hines, Chair of Sociology, University of Sheffield, UK

---

Goh, J. N. (2020). Becoming a Malaysian trans man: Gender, society, body and faith. Palgrave Macmillan.

Download an excerpt

Sexuality, religion and faith often have complex and conflicting interactions, on both personal and societal levels. Numerous studies have been conducted on queer subjects, but they have predominantly focused on ‘Western’ expressions of faith and queer identities. This book contributes to the wider scholarship on queer subjects by drawing on actual lived experiences of self-identifying gay and bisexual men in Malaysia. It discusses what we can learn from the realities of their lives that intersect with their religious, spiritual, theological or humanistic values in an Asian context. Analysed within the critical frameworks of queer theory and queer sexual theology, this study divulges the meanings ascribed to sexual identities and practices, as well as conceptualisations of masculinity, sexual desire, love and intimate physical connections. It also lays bare the complex negotiations between gender, desire and spirit, and how they can affect one another. Tying fascinating case studies and underexplored Asian theologies with wider conversations around sexuality and faith, this book will be of significant interest to scholars working in religious studies, theology, queer studies, sexuality studies and Asian studies.

A pioneering book on gender and sexuality studies in Southeast Asia. Dr. Goh weaves academic theories and personal narratives of gay and bisexual Malaysian men to provide a rich and fascinating study of gender, desire, and religion. The book makes a critical contribution to non-Western queer theory and gender studies. - Kwok Pui-lan, William F. Cole Professor of Christian Theology and Spirituality, Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

An original and seminal work which critically explores the integration of critical theory, theology, and lived experiences of gay and bisexual Malaysian men, as well as essential reading for anyone who is interested in new insights and approaches on the intersections of gay studies and theology beyond Europe and North America. - Jonathan Y. Tan, Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan Professor of Catholic Studies, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

---

Goh, J. N. (2018). Living out sexuality and faith: Body admissions of Malaysian gay and bisexual men. Routledge.

This book brings together a group of innovative scholars examining the contemporary issue of effecting gender and sexuality justice in the context of Asia, consonant with engendering a just, equitable and sustainable development for all. These grassroots initiatives are woven through three complementary sections of the book: gender justice in Asia, sexuality justice in Asia, and finding resolutions through conflict. The book foregrounds strategies that aim to call out and challenge existing gender and sexuality injustices with regard to women and the LGBTIQA+ community. ---

Goh, J. N., Bong, S. A., & Kananatu, T. (Eds.). (2020). Gender and sexuality justice in Asia: Finding resolutions through conflicts. Springer.

Download an excerpt

This book enters a new liminal space between the LGBTQ and denominational Christian communities. It simultaneously explores how those who identify as queer can find a home in church and how those leading welcoming, or indeed unwelcoming, congregations can better serve both communities. The primary argument is that queer inclusion must not merely mean an assimilation into existing heteronormative respectability and approval. Chapters are written by a diverse collection of Asian, Latin American, and U.S. theologians, religious studies scholars and activists. Each of them writes from their own social context to address the notion of LGBTQ alternative orthodoxies and praxes pertaining to God, the saints, failure of the church, queer eschatologies, and erotic economies.

The Church was again left behind in society in 2019. The United Methodist Church voted to uphold its ban on same-sex marriage and LGBT clergy in February, while Taiwan became the first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage in May. Why is God being pitched against sex between two loving individuals because they are not a man and a woman? This volume weaves together the most important spiritual and theological resources to decipher divine justice for our LGBTQ sisters and brothers. It is the most powerful declaration of God's love for them as much as their love for God. - Wong Wai Ching Angela, Professor, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

---

Shore-Goss, R. E., & Goh, J. N. (Eds.). (2020). Unlocking orthodoxies for inclusive theologies: Queer alternatives. Routledge.

More reviews can be found here

Download an excerpt

The book explores migration and queerness as they relate to ethnic/racial identity constructions, immigration processes and legal status, the formation of trans/national and trans/cultural partnerships, and friendships. It explores the roles that religious identities/values/worldviews play in the fortification/critique of queer migrant identities.

This volume offers inspiring and insightful essays from emerging scholars who explore the intersection of ethnicity, migration, sexual desire, practice, and religion. You will find most valuable contributions to the fields of queer studies and migration studies that expand the vision in both fields. - Andrea Bieler, Professor, Practical Theology, Kirchliche Hochschule Wuppertal/Bethel, Germany 

---

Córdova Quero, H., Goh, J. N., & Campos, M. S. (Eds.). (2014). Queering migrations towards, from, and beyond Asia. Palgrave Macmillan.

More reviews can be found here

Download an excerpt