Jonathan Coley

author of "Gay on God's Campus: Mobilizing for LGBT Equality at Christian Colleges and Universities"

December 11, 2018

Jonathan Coley holds a doctorate in Sociology from Vanderbilt University and is an assistant professor of Sociology at Oklahoma State University. His research agenda is situated within the fields of social movements and the sociology of religion, focusing on movements for minority-group inclusion within conservative settings.

His first book, “Gay on God’s Campus: Mobilizing for LGBT Equality at Christian Colleges and Universities” was published by The University of North Carolina Press in 2018. He has also published articles in journals such as Social Currents, Sociological Perspectives, Mobilization, Social Movement Studies, and Research in Social Movements, Conflicts, and Change.

“Gay on God’s Campus: Mobilizing for LGBT Equality at Christian Colleges and Universities” shows that although the LGBT movement has made rapid gains in the United States, LGBT people continue to face discrimination in faith communities. In this book, sociologist Jonathan S. Coley documents why and how student activists mobilize for greater inclusion at Christian colleges and universities.

Drawing on interviews with student activists at a range of Christian institutions of higher learning, Coley shows that students, initially drawn to activism because of their own political, religious, or LGBT identities, are forming direct action groups that transform university policies, educational groups that open up campus dialogue, and solidarity groups that facilitate their members' personal growth.

Coley also shows how these LGBT activists apply their skills and values after graduation in subsequent political campaigns, careers, and family lives, potentially serving as change agents in their faith communities for years to come. Coley's findings shed light on a new frontier of LGBT activism and challenge prevailing wisdom about the characteristics of activists, the purpose of activist groups, and ultimately the nature of activism itself.

URL: https://library-dep.okstate.edu/news/celebratingbooks/2019-honorees/jonathan-coley

Last Updated: 11 December 2018