ABSTRACT
This article seeks to discover, problematize and deconstruct the powerful discourses that have informed the recent debates within the Church of England (and other churches) in the area of human sexuality, and of homosexuality in particular. Poststructuralist methodology reveals that the sexualities’ discourse of the Church of England is structured around themes of purity/pollution and text/authority, which operate powerfully to police the theorization and practice of both individuals and the social body of the church. The instantiation of this discourse in the lives of individuals is illustrated by an analysis of two ‘stories’: the first, a biographical account of a particular incident in the life of one priest; the second draws on the published record of the difficulties raised by the appointment of Canon Jeffrey John as a bishop. In response to these findings, the author draws on theological traditions developed out of Queer Theory to suggest alternative ways of viewing sexualities, which are both more inclusive for LGBT people, and which may allow the churches to break through their current impasse.
