Religious and Sexual Identities

Andrew Kam-Tuck Yip is Professor of Sociology at University of Nottingham, UK. His recent publications include Queer Spiritual Spaces: Sexuality and Sacred Places, Religion, Gender and Sexuality in Everyday Life and The Ashgate Research Companion to Contemporary Religion and Sexuality. Sarah-Jane Page is Lecturer in Sociology at Aston University, UK. Her writings have appeared in journals such as Feminist Review, Feminist Theology and the Journal of Beliefs and Values.

’Critically cutting-edge in its mixed-method and inter-disciplinary approach, this book transcends the boundaries of religion or sexuality, guiding us through (non)normative identities and practices, which also trouble heterosexuality and dominant Christianity. Insightful and rich, it interweaves concern with emotions, embodiment, agency and tradition, through young people’s everyday lives and the "ontological anchor" of their multi-faith engagements.’ Yvette Taylor, Weeks Centre for Social and Policy Research, LSBU, UK ’Through the powerful voices of young adults, we are invited to understand what it means, and how it feels, to negotiate and navigate the exhilarations and exhaustions of converging and conflicting identities and communities, and overarching dominant social codes. A timely book for all of us working with young people in schools and health services, and living with young people in our increasingly pluralist societies.’ Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli, Deakin University, Australia Andrew Yip and Sarah-Jane Page have produced a thoughtful and information-packed volume that will likely change the minds of many about the relationship between religion, sexuality, and youth. ... This is a smart and readable book. Though it is clearly written for the specialist reader, and engages without much background discussion in an already ongoing conversation on the place of religion in the twenty-first century UK, the book is accessible enough to be approached by undergraduate students of any level. I can imagine engaging entry-level students in the findings of this book as a part of an introductory course on religion and/or sexuality; it would also be excellent for a course on the sociology of the life course. More advanced students, at either the undergraduate or the graduate level, will find much to engage them through the book’s conversation with current research in all three of its areas of interest and certainly scholars working on contempo

• Chapter 1 Introductionducing Religion, Youth and Sexuality; Chapter 2 Faith Matters: Exploring Meanings and Connections of Religion; Chapter 3 Understanding Sexuality: Negotiating Relationship Values; Chapter 4 Embodying Sexuality: Managing Bodily Practices; Chapter 5 Stirring Passions: Managing Singleness, Relationships and Counter-normative Sexualities; Chapter 6 Positioning Oneself in the World: Negotiating Sexualised Cultures in Diverse Spaces and Contexts; Chapter 7 Conclusions: Understanding Young Adults’ Religious Faith and Sexuality;