The Rev. Dr. Patrick Cheng grew up Roman Catholic and thought about becoming a priest. But in junior high, he realized he was gay – an identity the Church had officially labeled as being “intrinsically disordered.”
For years, he thought, “Not only could I not be a priest, but I couldn’t really be Christian either.”
After he went through college and law school, he moved to New York with his partner (and now husband). They soon learned about the Episcopal Church. At the time, an Episcopal bishop had been accused of heresy for ordaining an openly gay man as a deacon. But the bishop was ultimately acquitted of the charges – an important step forward at the time.
So, Cheng decided to learn more about the denomination. He said, “The Episcopal Church rekindled my faith and my love for the Christian tradition. And I could be honest about who I was.”
One day, he saw a flyer for a Biblical Hebrew class being offered by Union. He jumped at the opportunity. “I was tired of people telling me what the Bible said about homosexuality. I wanted to take this class so that I could read the original text myself.”
At Union, Cheng came into contact with progressive faith ideas, including the unconditional acceptance of LGBTQ+ people. He reflected, “During a time when mainline churches would not talk openly about sexuality issues, Union offered great classes on sexual ethics and other topics.”
He recalled a class he took with the legendary theologian James Cone in the late 1990s. The course included material on feminist theologies, Black theologies, Asian theologies, and lesbian and gay theologies. Cheng shared, “I couldn’t believe that such a thing even existed.”
Cheng went on to become a theologian, earning his doctoral degree at Union with Dr. Cone as his advisor. He was later ordained as an Episcopal priest, and he now serves as Visiting Professor of Anglican Studies at Union.
He spoke fondly of Union’s commitment to supporting LGBTQ+ communities and scholarship. He said that “radical inclusion” is baked into Union’s DNA. “We have a really great commitment to listening and dialogue. Union creates an environment where conversation across differences is possible.”
Tyrone Davis, Jr., a Union student, also spoke highly of the school’s support of LGBTQ+ communities.
He grew up in Miami, Florida in the 90s and had been exposed to queer people throughout his childhood. But the media and Church conditioned him to believe that homosexuality was a sin and that there was something wrong with the people he liked.
So, Davis distanced himself from religion. He reflected, “I had no religion, no spirituality, for a very long time.” Instead, he threw himself into theater communities, where queer people were more accepted. He was also fortunate to be accepted by his parents for his sexuality.
As he went through his theater career, he decided to reconnect with faith. So he looked to Unitarian Universalism, which was very inclusive of queer people.
He also made another crucial decision: He decided to become a sexuality educator. He found in his “work with adults, particularly with Black and queer folks, that religion-based body shame came up more than anything else.” So he wanted to help people “hold both spirituality and sexuality in the same space.”
Davis searched for an institution that could teach him how to better serve these communities – and found Union. He felt welcomed right away. He recounted, “There are so many representations of sexualities at Union, not only in the student body, but also on the faculty.” Additionally, queerness is “folded into the academia.” Davis also highlighted FIERCE, the Caucus for Queer People of Color.
Both Cheng and Davis shared why affirming seminaries like Union are so instrumental.
Cheng shared, “The very fact that you have openly queer students and seminary professors and staff at a place like Union is still a really important thing for many people right here in New York City as well as around the world.” He continued, “To take an LGBTQ+ affirming stance from a faith perspective is critical during a time when some would reverse the decades of progress made with respect to LGBTQ+ rights.”
Davis shared, “The stories of queer folks who ended up leaving religion because they don’t feel included into the community are abundant… It’s important that we build religious spaces with religious leaders who are willing to reimagine old ideologies and where we can hold people’s authentic sexuality and spirituality.”
Ultimately, according to Davis, we should strive to create communities that can “hold the truth of what it means to be human.”