Doing Church at the Amplify Open and Affirming Conferences
Queer Ecclesiologies in Asia
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
Becoming a Malaysian Trans Man
Gender, Society, Body and Faith
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
Living Out Sexuality and Faith
Body Admissions of Malaysian Gay and Bisexual Men
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.
Download an excerpt
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
Edited Volumes
Gender and Sexuality Justice in Asia
Finding Resolutions through Conflicts
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 ...
Unlocking Orthodoxies for Inclusive Theologies
Queer Alternatives
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, Vice President for Programs, United Board, and Honorary Professor, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
More reviews can be found here.
Queering Migrations Towards, From, and Beyond Asia
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
More reviews can be found here.
Edited Journal Special Issue
Goh, J. N., and Wong, P. (2015). Special issue on queer theologies [Special issue]. in God’s image 34(2).
Journal Articles
Goh, J. N. (2024). The pursuit of deviant happiness and queer spiritual well-being among Malaysian gay men: A theological proposal. Feminist Theology 32 (3): 342–51. doi: 10.1177/09667350241233586
Goh, J. N. (2024). Everyday precarity, oblique hostility and gendered liveability among Malaysian transgender men. Journal of Gender Studies, 33(4), 458–469. doi: 10.1080/09589236.2023.2228235
Chan, C.-T., & Goh, J. N. (2023). Social and cognitive dimensions of collaboration in informal learning spaces: Malaysian social science students’ perspectives. Interactive Learning Environments, 31(2), 609-623. doi: 110.1080/10494820.2020.1799029
Goh, J. N. (2023). Malaysian Roman Catholic transgender men, simultaneous failures in gender and religion, and customisations of spirituality and ethical living. Religions, 14(2), Article 2. doi: 10.3390/rel14020171
Goh, J. N. (2022). The subversion of Malay-Muslim homogeneity among Malaysian gay men and the crafting of personalised religiosities. Religión e Incidencia Pública, 10, 121–148.
Goh, J. N. (2016). Embracing the sacred in the unfamiliar: Reflections on the task of Christian theologising under the tutelage of LGBTQ people. Hapág, 13(1-2), 105-132. (Published in 2021 for a backdated issue)
Goh, J. N. (2021). Trans/imagining God: Articulations of individualised spirituality among Muslim and Christian transgender men. Journal for the Study of Spirituality, 11(1), 34-47. doi: 10.1080/20440243.2020.1861899
Goh, J. N. (2020). Gay men, the invention of ecclesial injustice, and aspirations for redress and renewal. CrossCurrents 70(4), 360-377. doi: 10.1111/cros.12445
Goh, J. N. (2020). Trans/Forming church in the Asia Pacific region: Narratives of hospitable ecclesiology by Philippine and Tongan transgender women. QUEST: Studies on Religion & Culture in Asia, 4, 1-17.
Goh, J. N. (2019). God>Cursing>Shaming>Blessing>Pride. TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly, 6(3), 435–441. doi: 10.1215/23289252-7549582
Goh, J. N. (2019). Untying tongues: Negotiations and innovations of faith and gender among Malaysian Christian trans men. Culture and Religion, 20(1), 1–20. doi: 10.1080/14755610.2018.1562482
Goh, J. N., Meneses, K. C., & Messer, D. E. (2019). An ecclesiological praxis of inclusivity toward sexual diversity and HIV: Learning from Singapore and the Philippines. International Journal of Public Theology, 13(2), 163–184. doi: 10.1163/15697320-12341570
Goh, J. N., & Kananatu, T. (2019). Mak nyahs and the dismantling of dehumanisation: Framing empowerment strategies of Malaysian male-to-female transsexuals in the 2000s. Sexualities, 22(1–2), 114–130. doi: 10.1177/1363460717740256
Goh, J. N., Lewis, G. L., & Leong, P. P. Y. (2019). Sexy media dissidents: State regulation, dissidence, pornography and gay men in Malaysia. Sexuality & Culture, 23(1), 192–208. doi: 10.1007/s12119-018-9550-2
Messer, D. E., & Goh, J. N. (2017). Locating the face of God: Practical theological reflections on LGBTIQ people and churches. in God’s image, 36(2), 21–30.
Goh, J. N. (2018). Gender, Sexuality and ‘Songsang’: Freedom of Expression for LGBT Malaysians? Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia, Young Academics Voice (22).
Goh, J. N. (2017). Navigating sexual honesty: A qualitative study of the meaning-making of pornography consumption among gay-identifying Malaysian men. Porn Studies, 4(4), 447–462. doi: 10.1080/23268743.2017.1371066
Goh, J. N. (2017). Bridging benedictions, enlightening embodiment: Interpretations of spirit through desire among gay and bisexual Malaysian men. Journal for the Study of Spirituality, 7(2), 128–141. doi: 10.1080/20440243.2017.1370907
Goh, J. N. (2017). From polluted to prophetic bodies: Theo-pastoral lessons from the lived experiences of gay, HIV-positive Christian men in Singapore. Practical Theology, 10(2), 133–146. doi: 10.1080/1756073X.2017.1296240
Goh, J. N. (2016). Searched and known: An autoethno-theological reflection on the sexual body and creation in relation to Psalm 139. CrossCurrents, 66(4), 485–500. doi: 10.1111/cros.12210
Goh, J. N. (2016). Survivalist sexuality-faith strategies in biblical meaning-makings: Non-heteronormative Malaysian Christian men and negotiations of sexual self-affirmation. QUEST: Studies on Religion & Culture in Asia, 1, 38–53.
Goh, J. N. (2016). Imaginative assemblages of transcendent/desire: Non-heteronormative Malaysian men speak up and talk back. Critical Research on Religion, 4(2), 125–140. doi: 10.1177/2050303216647104
Goh, J. N., & Wong, P. (2015). Editorial: Queer theologies—playing with theology. in God’s image, 34(2), 1–4.
Goh, J. N. (2015). Outing the self/outing God: Reimagining the cross for Christians with same-sex attractions. in God’s image, 34(1), 22–31.
Goh, J. N. (2014). Fracturing interwoven heteronormativities in Malaysian Malay-Muslim masculinity: A research note. Sexualities, 17(5–6), 600–617. doi: 10.1177/1363460714526317
Goh, J. N. (2014). Reclaiming vision and voice: A queer-feminist-liberation reading of Mark 10: 46-52 in relation to non-heteronormative Malaysians. in God’s image, 33(1), 40–51.
Goh, J. N. (2014). Sacred sexual touch: Illness, sexual bodies and sacramental anointing in rural Bidayŭh villages. Rural Theology: International, Ecumenical and Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 12(1), 42–52. doi: 10.1179/1470499414Z.00000000027
Goh, J. N. (2014). ‘Trans*cending Tribulations’. New Mandala.
Goh, J. N. (2014). ‘You must follow our belief or else you can’t receive God’: Constructing a sexual bi/theology of Eucharist. Dialog, 53(2), 149–158. doi: 10.1111/dial.12105
Goh, J. N. (2012). Mak nyah bodies as sacred sites: Uncovering the queer body-sacramentality of Malaysian male-to-female transsexuals. CrossCurrents, 62, 512–521. doi: 10.1111/cros.12006
Goh, J. N. (2012). Mary and the mak nyahs: Queer theological imaginings of Malaysian male-to-female transsexuals. Theology & Sexuality, 18, 215–233. doi: 10.1179/1355835813Z.00000000016
Goh, J. N. (2012). Nyah–Islam: The reconstruction of God and institutional Islam by Malaysian male-to-female transsexuals. in God’s image, 31, 33–44.
Goh, J. N. (2012). The word was not made flesh: Theological reflections on the banning of Seksualiti Merdeka 2011. Dialog, 51, 145–154. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6385.2012.00671.x
Goh, J. N. (2011). Balanced genitals: YouTube confessional disclosures and signposts for Malaysian gay theologies. Theology & Sexuality, 17, 279–295. doi: 10.1179/tas.17.3.y521585055787g78
Book Chapters
Goh, J. N. (2023). Transgressive table talk: A Malaysian imagines a queer rojak liturgy. In L. Isherwood & H. C. Quero (Eds.), Queer ministers’ voices from the Global South: ‘A burning fire in my bones’ (pp. 44–63). Routledge.
Goh, J. N. (2023). Asian faces of Jesus. In G. C. Jenks (Ed.), Cultural afterlives of Jesus: Jesus in global perspective 3 (pp. 83–99). Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers.
Goh, J. N. (2023). Partner, husband, friend? The sacramentality of a same-sex relationship. In R. Pryor & S. Burns (Eds.), Feminist theologies: Interstices and fractures (pp. 123–130). Lexington Books.
Goh, J. N. (2023). ‘God is not afraid of new things’: LGBTQ people and the enrichment of theology. In G. Prüller-Jagenteufel, R. C. Mendoza, & G. Ladner (Eds.), In service for a servant church: Outlines and challenges for Catholic theology today. Documentation of the INSeCT conferences in Manila 2019 and Vienna 2020 (pp. 107–122). Paderborn, Germany: Brill Schöningh.
Goh, J. N. (2022). Collaborative learning in informal spaces: Formulating a pedagogical project of student-centred active learning in Gender Studies. In C.-T. Chan, G. Kidman, & M. Y. Tee (Eds.), Collaborative active learning: Practical activity-based approaches to learning, assessment and feedback (pp. 105–130). Palgrave Macmillan.
Wijaya Mulya, T., & Goh, J. N. (2022). Masculinities and religion in Southeast Asia. In C. Starkey & E. Tomalin (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of religion, gender and society (pp. 514–525). New York: Routledge.
Goh, J. N. (2020). Manang bali, indecent interweavings and healing spaces in contemporary Malaysian trans and queer theo-pastoralities. In L. Isherwood & H. C. Quero (Eds.), The indecent theologies of Marcella Althaus-Reid: Voices from Asia and Latin America (pp. 72-93). New York: Routledge.
Goh, J. N. (2020). Looking queerly through the heart: Towards a Southeast Asian praxis of doing church with LGBTIQ/PLHIV. In J. N. Goh, S. A. Bong, & T. Kananatu (Eds.), Gender and sexuality justice in Asia: Finding resolutions through conflicts (pp. 185–201). Singapore: Springer.
Goh, J. N. (2020). Afterword: Erotic dreams, theology, and the word-(re)made-flesh. In R. E. Shore-Goss & J. N. Goh (Eds.), Unlocking orthodoxies for inclusive theologies: Queer alternatives (pp. 233–242). New York: Routledge.
Goh, J. N. (2020). Songsang, confessions, and theologizings of divine lavishness. In R. E. Shore-Goss & J. N. Goh (Eds.), Unlocking orthodoxies for inclusive theologies: Queer alternatives (pp. 51–69). New York: Routledge.
Goh, J. N. (2019). Practical guidelines for SOGIESC theologising in Southeast Asia: Foregrounding gender nonconformity, sexual diversity and non-dyadic embodiment. In S. Suleeman & A. D. Udampoh (Eds.), Siapakah sesamaku? Pergumulan teologi dengan isu-isu keadilan gender (pp. 185–210). Jakarta, Indonesia: Sekolah Tinggi Filsafat Theologi Jakarta.
Goh, J. N. (2019). Queer political scrutinies and other ruminations: Methodologies, methods and complexities in qualitative research among non-heteronormative men in Malaysia. In B. Aleaz & P. P. Basu (Eds.), Revisiting qualitative methods in social science research (pp. 110–135). Hyderabad, India: Orient Blackswan Private Limited.
Lee, J. C. H., Goh, J. N., Landau-Ward, A. R., Sutcliffe, R. J. (2018). Partial Kuala Lumpur: Ethnicity, class, sexuality, and protest. In T. Bunnell & D. P. S. Goh (Eds.), Urban Asias: Essays on futurity past and present (pp. 219-231). Berlin, Germany: JOVIS Publishers.
Córdova Quero, H., & Goh, J. N. (2018). More than a divine ménage à trois: Friendship, polyamory and the doctrine of the Trinity. In L. Isherwood & D. von der Horst (Eds.), Contemporary theological approaches to sexuality (pp. 289–312). London: Routledge
Goh, J. N. (2017). Realising a true family of God. In P. Kuruvilla (Ed.), Christian responses to issues of human sexuality and gender diversity: A guide to the churches in India (pp. 44–48). New Delhi & Nagpur, India: ISPCK/NCCI.
Goh, J. N. (2016). Close encounters of the authentic kind: Exploring the meaning-making of love, sex and intimacy among gay-identifying Malaysian men. In J. C. H. Lee & M. Ferrarese (Eds.), Punks, monks and politics: Authenticity in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia (pp. 47–64). London: Rowman & Littlefield International.
Goh, J. N. (2016). ‘Why is It wrong?’: Conceptualisations of sexual wrongdoing and sexual ethics among gay-identifying Malaysian men. In Y. S. L. Chan, J. F. Keenan, & S. G. Kochuthara (Eds.), Doing Asian theological ethics in a cross-cultural and an interreligious context (pp. 347–360). Bengaluru, India: Dharmaram Publications.
Ferrarese, M., Goh, J. N., Lee, J. C. H., & Lim, C. (2015). Identity formations in contemporary Malaysia: Traversing and transcending ethnicity. In J. Chin & J. Dosch (Eds.), Malaysia post-Mahathir: A decade of change? (pp. 41–69). Singapore: Marshall Cavendish.
Goh, J. N. (2015). Peculiar politics in Malaysia: A queer perspective on non-heteronormative Malay-Muslim men. In J. E. Cox & J. Grzelinska (Eds.), Ways of queering, ways of seeing (pp. 3–33). Oxford, UK: Inter-Disciplinary Press.
Campos, M. S., Córdova Quero, H., Goh, J. N., Leung, E., Siew, M., & Yip, L. (2014). Desire, nation and faith: A roundtable among Emerging Queer Asian/Pacific Islander Religion Scholars (EQARS). In H. Córdova Quero, J. N. Goh, & M. S. Campos (Eds.), Queering migrations towards, from, and beyond Asia(pp. 61–74). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Córdova Quero, H., Goh, J. N., & Campos, M. S. (2014). Introduction: Trans/pacific affairs: Queer-journeyers in search of new liaisons. In H. Córdova Quero, J. N. Goh, & M. S. Campos (Eds.), Queering migrations towards, from, and beyond Asia (pp. 1–18). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Goh, J. N. (2014). Transgressive empowerment: Queering the spiritualities of the mak nyahs of PT Foundation. In H. Córdova Quero, J. N. Goh, & M. S. Campos (Eds.), Queering migrations towards, from, and beyond Asia (pp. 123–137). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
(N.B.: The Spanish version of this chapter appears as 'Facultamiento transgresivo: Queerificando las espiritualidades de las mak nyahs de la Fundación PT en Kuala Lumpur, Malasia')Goh, J. N. (2013). Malaysian masculine exposé: Queering the politics of non-heteronormative Malay-Muslim men. In V. Fraser (Ed.), Queer sexualities: Diversifying queer, queering diversity (E-Book, pp. 15–30). Oxford, UK: Inter-Disciplinary Press.
(N.B.: A fuller version of 'Malaysian masculine exposé' now appears as 'Peculiar politics in Malaysia'. See above)Goh, J. N. (2012). The homosexual threat: Appraising masculinities and men’s sexualities in Malaysia. In J. Hopkins & J. C. H. Lee (Eds.), Thinking through Malaysia: Culture and identity in the 21st century (pp. 167–186). Selangor, Malaysia: Strategic Information and Research Development Centre.
Goh, J. N. (2012). Online nomads: Queer theology responds to online intercultural homoerotic pursuits in Malaysia. In F. Dervin (Ed.), Relations intimes interculturelles (pp. 95–113). Paris, France: Éditions des Archives Contemporaines.
Other Works (selected)
Goh, J. N. (2024, July 15). Acts 10 - Queering the Bible: Queering the book of Acts. Unbound: The Intersections of Faith and Justice. https://justiceunbound.org/acts-10/
Luhur, W., Brown, T. N. T., & Goh, J. N. (2020). Public Opinion of Transgender Rights in Malaysia. The Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law, Los Angeles, CA. https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/opinion-trans-rights-malaysia/
Goh, J. N. 'Losing a Life Partner: A Malaysian Gay Christian Man Reflects'. Queer Lapis. 24th December 2018.
Goh, J. N. 'A Divinely-Inspired Gender: The Manang Bali Shamans of Sarawak'. Queer Lapis. 1st April 2018.
Goh, J. N. (2016). Our Lady of Subang Jaya. In Miracles: An Encyclopedia of People, Places, and Supernatural Events from Antiquity to the Present (pp. 312-314). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
Goh, J. N. (2016). Christianity, Sexual Diversity and Access to Health Services. Bangkok, Thailand: APCOM.
Goh, J. N. (2014). ‘Report from Jakarta: the International Consultation on Church and Homophobia’. AACRE. 12th May 2014.
Goh, J. N. (2014) ‘Amplify 2014: All-Asia Open and Affirming Church and Life Conference in Singapore’. Fridae.asia. 6th October 2014.