Abstract

This dissertation analyzes the fear of sexuality and erotic pleasure, called erotophobia, which has heavily influenced the churches and the construction of Christian sexual ethics. Driven by this fear, the churches developed an intense need to control Eros and, subsequently, defined the ethical possibility for sexual pleasure in very narrow and suspicious ways. This approach serves to oppress sexuality itself and marginalize those individuals who embrace eroticism outside of the churches' conventional framework. This project develops a sexual liberation theology that moves beyond erotophobia by utilizing the theme of conversion understood as a radical change in world views, a concept developed by Bernard Lonergan, a Roman Catholic 20th Century scholar. The dissertation argues that if Lonergan's understanding of conversion is seen through the lens of embodiment and sexual liberation theology, we can then broaden the concept to include the notion of Erotic Conversion. Simply put, Erotic Conversion can be defined as a "turn with" the goodness of our bodies, sexual pleasure and our sexual selves. Erotic Conversion, like coming out of the closet for the gay person, is a process that can be embraced by the person who up to now has experienced the negativity of the church in a profound enough way that it has affected his/her ability to accept the erotic aspect of the self. At the same time, the notion of Erotic conversion itself presents a hermeneutical challenge to orthodox understandings of sexuality: the church as a communal entity is called to conversion regarding its view and damaging relationship to Eros. Erotically converted, we can develop the notion of a responsible hedonism and call for a preferential option for the body in Christian sexual ethics. Besides Lonergan's epistemological method, this project utilizes and incorporates concepts from liberation theology, gay and lesbian theology, postmodern thought, psychology and erotic theology