Forced to "Pray the Gay Away" – Now He's a Queer Pastor | Brandan Robertson
Preacher Boys Podcast
Eric Skwarczynski
4.6 • 701 Ratings
🗓️ 25 May 2025
⏱️ 59 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Grab a copy of Queer & Christian: https://amzn.to/3Fay4au
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In this episode of the Preacher Boys Podcast, Eric Skwarczynski sits down with Brandan Robertson—progressive pastor, author, activist, and a leading voice for LGBTQ+ inclusion in Christianity—for an honest conversation about faith, sexuality, deconstruction, and reclaiming spiritual spaces. Brandan shares his journey from a troubled childhood and fundamentalist upbringing to leading Sunnyside Reformed Church in NYC and publishing his new book, Queer and Christian. Together, they discuss the trauma and hope found in church communities, the complexities of questioning doctrine, and why reclaiming faith matters for healing and justice.
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Chapters:
0:00 Meet Brandan Robertson
0:49 Brandan’s Childhood
2:12 From Outsider to Believer
3:15 When Church Hurts
5:38 Kicked Out for Questioning
7:14 Leaving Fundamentalism
8:25 Surviving Bible College
10:22 Indoctrination Exposed
13:07 “Pray Away the Gay”
17:07 Queer in Ministry?
22:42 Deconstructing Faith
26:13 Why Stay Christian?
30:05 Power of Nostalgia
33:06 Cultural Christianity Secrets
37:36 Conservative Arguments
46:54 Where to Start?
50:26 Brandan’s Message
53:20 Radical Hope
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, everybody, welcome back to the Prejoys podcast. Today's guest is Brandon Robertson. He's a queer pastor, |
| 0:05.5 | biblical scholar, and social activist. As I'm sure you can imagine, his progressive views on Christianity |
| 0:10.6 | and sexuality have made him a lightning rod for controversy. You've become an apostate. You're bringing |
| 0:16.9 | in your selected external sources to overthrow the consistent testimony. |
| 0:22.0 | Search into the ancient Greco-Roman world. |
| 0:24.5 | Son, I was studying this stuff when you were still in diapers. |
| 0:27.2 | Don't give me your 10-year stuff. |
| 0:28.8 | Stop him from speaking. |
| 0:30.0 | This is really sacrilegious. |
| 0:31.7 | While you may have seen a lot of polarizing headlines, clickbait YouTube titles, and |
| 0:35.4 | debates about Brandon's beliefs, today we're diving |
| 0:38.0 | into his personal story. Raised outside the church, he found faith at 12 in a strict |
| 0:43.1 | independent fundamental Baptist church, only to be reprimanded for asking difficult |
| 0:47.4 | questions about the Bible. Later at Moody Bible Institute, he endured the trauma of conversion |
| 0:52.1 | therapy while wrestling with his identity. |
| 0:59.3 | Now, Brandon leads Sunnyside Reform Church in New York City and heads the devout foundation. |
| 1:04.2 | He's written over 20 books and is currently pursuing a PhD, and he's also spoken at venues like the White House and Westminster Abbey. And today he's slumming it here on my show. |
| 1:09.0 | Today we're going to be talking about his experiences, |
| 1:15.6 | as well as his latest book, Queer and Christian, which is available to purchase wherever books are sold. You can check the link in the show notes of this episode to order your copy, but now here's |
| 1:20.0 | my conversation with my friend, Brandon Robertson. Brandon, thank you so much for joining me on |
| 1:25.2 | today's episode. Thank you so much. It's such an honor to be here with you. |
| 1:28.0 | Take me back to early childhood in the church. |
... |
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