Homosexuality: representing the devil or a spiritual gift? Two opposing views in the same Marian devotion

J Homosex. 2013;60(1):31-50. doi: 10.1080/00918369.2012.712845.

Abstract

This article analyzes opposing discourses on homosexuality forwarded by two different Catholic social actors. These are linked to the messages of the Lady of All Nations, a Marian apparition site in Amsterdam. These different actors are understood as competing moral communities ( Hunt, 2009 ), especially about the issue of what constitute European values. Both discourses can be seen as examples of the minoritizing yet universalizing view on homosexuality ( Kosofsky Sedgwick, 1990 , p. 85). The devotion to the Lady of All Nations serves as a site for promoting competing discourses ( Hermkens, Jansen, & Notermans, 2009 ).

MeSH terms

  • Catholicism*
  • Female
  • Homosexuality*
  • Human Rights
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Minority Groups
  • Netherlands
  • Religion and Sex*
  • Spirituality