"Radical Belonging" — William Cavins's Book on Queer Theology and the Gospel of Inclusion

“Radical Belonging: Queer Theology and the Gospel of Inclusion” is a book by American pastor and bishop William R. Cavins, written in English and published independently.

William R. Cavins is the founding bishop of the Diocese of Our Lady, Queen of Martyrs in the Reformed Catholic Church. Since 2020, he has served as pastor of Abiding Presence Faith Community in Orlando, Florida. He was ordained to the diaconate in 1996, to the presbyterate in 2006, and consecrated as bishop in 2013. Among his other publications is a collection of prayers for queer believers titled “Beloved and Bold: Prayers for Queer Faith, Justice, and Joy.”

The Reformed Catholic Church is an independent Christian movement that maintains Catholic liturgical traditions and sacraments but does not recognize papal authority. Unlike the Roman Catholic Church, it ordains women and openly LGBTQ+ people to all church offices, including the episcopate.

Queer theology is a branch of Christian theology that developed in the 1990s. It re-reads biblical texts and church tradition through the lens of LGBTQ+ experience. Queer theologians challenge interpretations of the Bible that were historically used to exclude homosexual and transgender people from religious life and offer alternative readings of central Christian texts.

The book’s title brings together two concepts: “radical belonging” and “the Gospel of Inclusion.” In Christian theology, the “Gospel” refers to the central message of grace and salvation. The concept of the “Gospel of Inclusion” holds that this message is addressed to all people without exception, including those historically rejected by traditional churches. Cavins examines these concepts from the perspective of queer theology.