Chosen by Publishers Weekly as one of the ten best religion books the year it was published and nominated for a Lambda Literary Award, COMING OUT SPIRITUALLY: THE NEXT STEP offers a fresh outlook on LGBT spirituality and gives readers a foundation from which to begin building a spiritual life.
In these times of dramatic social change, when the highly charged issue of homosexuality is undeniably causing controversy in many arenas--religion, marriage, politics, education, the military--Christian de la Huerta turns upside down the premise that "gay spirituality" is an oxymoron. Coming Out Spiritually synthesizes ten spiritual roles or archetypes people we now call LGBT or queer have often assumed and continue to enact today: creators of beauty, consciousness scouts, mediators, shamans, and healers, among others. Drawing on these models while acting as a guide to the LGBT community, the author shows how to look deeper inside; to reach higher than ever before; to step forth more fully into a rightful self.
An impassioned call to action, Coming Out Spiritually alternatively touches, challenges, encourages, and supports the LGBT community to fully reclaim its spiritual heritage. In this encompassing guidebook, de la Huerta looks at Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Taoism, Sufism, New Thought, New Age, and Earth-based religions, including Native American. Cogently investigating these traditions' attitudes, teachings, and policies toward homosexuality, the author gives the reader a foundation from which to begin building a spiritual connection.
“Whether reclaiming or inventing, questioning or witnessing, testifying or envisioning, queer folks today are fomenting a dynamic spiritual renewal. With sympathy and insight, Christian de la Huerta surveys this burgeoning movement in all its diversity.”
“The inevitable achievement of our civil rights will be a partial victory for us until we claim for ourselves the spiritual right that Christian de la Huerta invites us to explore. COMING OUT SPIRITUALLY is an encyclopedia of possibilities that make coming out politically and coming in spiritually easier and more joyous.”
“I wish I had this book when I first came out as a ‘spiritual person.’ Christian de la Huerta’s ‘next step’ vision is clear, integral, and very sexy.”
“COMING OUT SPIRITUALLY is a thoroughly researched, thought-provoking examination of the relationships between gays and lesbians and the multiplicity of ways of expressing what I call the impulse to mystery—the need to engage that aspect of the world and of our lives that lies beyond words and explication. De la Huerta’s book will be of great interest both to the spiritually curious and to the dedicated seeker, for it compiles in one source everything from useful summaries to the various religions’ principles and attitudes toward same-gender love to profiles of the author’s own remarkable spiritual journey. Through this book and through his organization QSpirit, de la Huerta is performing a great service, not only to gays and lesbians but to the causes of peace and justice.”
“COMING OUT SPIRITUALLY is not only a wisely written book with valid affirmations about the human condition but it is also a great compendium to help us achieve our better and best selves. De la Huerta’s book is valuable to both gays and lesbians.”
“De la Huerta whips up an enlightening, reverent, celebratory tome that refuses to deny the corporeal in order to celebrate transcendence. Full of words to live by, the scope and heartfelt intensity of this book should be required reading for every gay man as we approach the millennium.”
“With intelligent compassion, Christian de la Huerta immerses us in the great contemporary struggle both inside and outside formal religions to expand human capacity for embracing more than one story about who we are as sacred beings. Written inclusively and warmly, COMING OUT SPIRITUALLY expands the lineage of those of us who comprehend gayness as comprising positive, transformative attributes of spiritual office. This is a book to treasure and teach.”
“This book is Jerry Falwell’s worst nightmare: an eloquent, comprehensive guide for gay men and lesbians ready to storm the holy banquet without apology or fear. If you’ve wondered how to make passion a virtue, read this book without delay.”
“Christian de la Huerta bears witness to gay people’s quest for meaning with compassion and clarity. He reports his findings with an expansive vision, ranging from the traditional to the unorthodox, and with a voice enriched by past discovery as well as future promise. Above all, COMING OUT SPIRITUALLY offers helpful new ways of thinking about queer people in society today. It is a hopeful book, encouraging as it is insightful.”
“De la Huerta’s beautifully crafted prose and his passionate desire to help queers come out spiritually mark this book as an extraordinary achievement.”
“Comparable to Shinoda Bolen’s Goddesses in Everywoman and Pinkola Estes’ Women Who Run with the Wolves, COMING OUT SPIRITUALLY reveals how we may apply spiritual and archetypal wisdom relating to erotic and gendered diversity to enrich our daily lives as well as to ameliorate the lives of others and to nurture the well-being of the earth.”
