Rev. Dr. Jay Johnson

Jay Emerson Johnson is an Episcopal priest and theologian and has served the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry at Pacific School of Religion (PSR) in a number of capacities since 2003, most recently as the Senior Director, Academic Research and Resources, and the Coordinator of PSR's Certificate in Sexuality and Religion program. In 2008 he joined the core doctoral faculty of the Graduate Theological Union and is an adjunct faculty member at both PSR and the Church Divinity School of the Pacific.

Dr. Johnson co-chaired the Gay Men,s Issues in Religion Group of the American Academy of Religion from 2001-2007, and since 2006 has been a member of the steering committee of the National Religious Leadership Roundtable of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Theology and Sexuality.

Dr. Johnson earned his B.A. in Biblical and Theological Studies from Wheaton College in 1983, his M.Div. from Nashotah House Episcopal Seminary (with honors) in 1988, and his Ph.D. in philosophical theology from the Graduate Theological Union in 1998. He has published essays and articles on sexuality and Christian theology and on the methodological resources of American pragmatism for contemporary religious studies. His first book, Dancing with God: Anglican Christianity and the Practice of Hope, was published by Morehouse/Continuum in 2005. In addition to his academic vocation, Dr. Johnson has also worked on three archaeological excavations in Israel (1982-83, 1985), co-facilitated the Wheaton College Gay and Lesbian Alumni Association, and contributed to various diocesan commissions in the Episcopal Church, including the Bishop of Chicago's Task Force on Human Sexuality (1989-1990).

His current interests and writing projects explore the intersections of queer theory and Christian theology, especially the constructive contributions offered by the experiences and insights of queer communities to the development of Christian theological ideas and spiritual practice. He serves as associate clergy at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Berkeley and is a popular retreat leader and facilitator of adult education programs in variety of faith communities, both in the San Francisco Bay Area and around the country.

(This biographical statement provided by Jay Johnson.)

Biography Date: December, 2004

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