This volume addresses three things many people do not discuss candidly with strangers or mere acquaintances: God, sex, and politics. These can easily become topics of fierce debate, particularly when taken together, as has been the case with same-sex marriage legislation, the Vaticans criticism of gender ideology, or the repeatedly asserted claim that Islam, homosexuality, and gender equality are essentially incompatible. This volume investigates what is at stake in these constructions of religion and homosexuality in public discourses. Starting with the Netherlands as a special case study, it proceeds with contributions on other predominantly postsecular countries in central, northern, and southern Europe as well as several postcommunist and postcolonial countries beyond Europe. Combining contemporary and historical perspectives and approaches from both the humanities and the social sciences, the contributors explore how national and European identities are constructed and contested in debates on religion and homosexuality.

Chapter 2 and Chapter 8 of this book are available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com.

Marco Derks is an independent scholar of religion, sexuality, and gender.

Mariecke van den Berg is Professor by Special Appointment of Feminism and Christianity at Radboud University Nijmegen, and Assistant Professor of Interreligious Studies at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Chapter 1: Public Discourses about Homosexuality and Religion in Europe and beyond: An Introduction.- Chapter 2: Hellish Evil, Heavenly Love: A Long-Term History of Same-Sex Sexuality and Religion in the Netherlands.- Chapter 3: Sexuality, Religion and Education: (Re)production of Culturalist Discourse in Sexual Diversity Education in the Netherlands.- Chapter 4: A Postprogressive Nation: Homophobia, Islam, and the New Social Question in the Netherlands.- Chapter 5: Culture Wars about Sexuality: A Theological Proposal for Dialogue.- Chapter 6: Queering Judaism and Masculinist Inventions: German Homonationalism around 1900.- Chapter 7: Antisemitism and Homophobia in Polish Liberal Discourses: The Cultural Logic of Comparison and a Proposal for Intersectionality.- Chapter 8: The Changing Relation between Sexual and Gender Minorities and Religion in Finland: Some Observations in the Light of Postsecularity.- Chapter 9: Debating Homosexuality in Italy: Plural Religious Voices in the Public Sphere.- Chapter 10: The Ultraconservative Agenda against Sexual Rights in Spain: A Catholic Repertoire of Contention to Reframe Public Concerns.- Chapter 11: The Catholic Opposition to Gender and Sexual Equality in France: Reviving the Traditional Condemnation of Homosexuality during the Debates on Marriage for All?.- Chapter 12: Ecce Homo in Sweden and Serbia: State, Church, and Blasphemy.- Chapter 13: Gays as Weapons of the Antichrist: Religious Nationalism, Homosexuality, and the Antichrist on the Russian Internet.- Chapter 14: The Empire Speaks Back: Zambian Responses to European Union LGBTI Rights Diplomacy.- Chapter 15: Conservative Islamic Forces, Global LGBT Rights, and Anticipatory Homophobia in Indonesia.