Shameless Theology: Queer Feminist Latine Decolonial Faith

Shameless Theology is a unique podcast that amplifies ferocious Queer, Trans, and feminist, academically-trained Latine theologians who are living examples of counter-narratives and theological resistance to the political and religious threats our people face.

Coming Out in May! SUBSCRIBE NOW!

This media project is the first of its kind: a woman-led and queer-centered conversation space where Latine activists and theologians convene digitally across the Americas to discuss the alternatives to death-dealing theologies of Christian fundamentalisms that kill our spirits and impede our progress to equal rights and full human dignity— all from an unapologetically politicized faith perspective.

Hosted by Reverend Sex (Rev. Alba Onofrio - Executive Director of Soulforce), this podcast channel offers connection, reflection, and community for anyone feeling spiritually marginalized or exiled but still resiliently faithful, while centering dialogue on Queer, Trans, and feminist theology.

Shameless Theology seeks to decolonize faith, mixing theological education with real-life experiences to support human rights and life abundant for all of Creation. Initially launched in Spanish as Teología Sin Vergüenza, this show addresses the monopolization of religious discourse by the extreme Right. Here, we gather people of diverse faith backgrounds and Christian denominations--pastors, activists, and scholars--to discuss gender identity, the erotic, and real life in the context of a radically inclusive faith, aiming to heal the wounds of colonizing religion and create a welcoming space for topics often considered taboo in religious spaces.

This season forefronts our new book: Spiritual Violence: Religious Phenomena that Defile the Faith. This timely resource identifies and examines the consequences of white Christian Supremacy through historical context and case studies, centering lived experiences of marginalized people, and offers critical analysis and practical tools for healing and resistance. Each week, we’ll share engaging conversations with brilliant guests familiar with the work, as we explore the concepts and lived experiences of Spiritual Violence. The podcast is not a repetition of the book but an expansion of conversation adding new voices: experts in their fields who share their experience with our community. Even if you haven’t read the book yet, these are engaging conversations relevant to the here and how, and we invite you to join us and continue the conversation in your own communities. 

FREE PREVIEW: Spiritual Violence and Religious Phenomena that Defile the Faith: soulforce.org/download/spiritual-violence/     

Join in our community of Sinvergüenzas by visiting our Shameless Theology homepage or our Spanish WhatsApp Lista de Difusión. If you’d like to support this cutting-edge movement of ferocious Latine power building, please make a donation.

https://soulforce.org/donate/

In the season finale of Teología Sin Vergüenza — and the close of our very first English‑language season — host Reverend Alba Onofrio (Reverend Sex) and Soulforce Associate Director Nadia Arellano return to the heart of Queer and Feminist Latin American theology. Together, they revisit the conversations that shaped this season, reflecting on the wisdom shared by Queer and feminist Latine faith leaders, pastors, and theologians across the diaspora.

For the first time, the hosts answer the same grounding questions they posed to every guest: What does it mean to be a Sinvergüenza? Who are your ancestors? Where is home? Their reflections open a tender, powerful dialogue about decolonial theology, language, spiritual resistance, and the healing work ahead. They also share a glimpse of their forthcoming book on spiritual violence, religious abuse, and spiritual healing strategies, which will be a primary focus of next season.

Whether you’ve been with TSV since the Spanish‑language seasons or you joined us for this new chapter, this finale invites you into community, reflection, and shameless liberation.

The Soulforce Podcast Channel will be taking a six‑week break after this week’s episode of Love Letters from Reverend Sex. This is the perfect time to catch up on any episodes you may have missed. We’d also love to hear from you — your feedback, questions, and ideas help shape what comes next. Connect with us on social media at @soulforceorg or send us an email at [email protected].

00:00 Introduction to Queer and Feminist Theology

01:34 Season Finale and Reflections

02:48 Language and Diaspora

05:31 Bridging Gaps in Knowledge

09:26 Highlights and Personal Reflections

18:37 Embracing Shamelessness

27:19 Exploring the Concept of Home

30:38 The Body as a Home

32:01 Reclaiming Our Bodies and Identities

33:15 Honoring Our Ancestors

39:39 The Power of Shamelessness

45:51 Intergenerational Wisdom and Community

53:22 Season Finale and Future Plans

Hosted by Rev. Sex (Rev. Alba Onofrio - Executive Director of Soulforce), this podcast channel offers connection, reflection, and community for anyone feeling spiritually marginalized or exiled but still resiliently faithful while centering dialogue on Queer, trans, and feminist theology.

TSV seeks to decolonize faith, mixing theological education with real-life experiences to support human rights and liberation. Initially launched in Spanish, TSV addresses the monopolization of religious discourse by the far right. The platform gathers people of diverse Christian denominations, pastors, activists, and scholars to discuss gender identity, sex, and pleasure in the context of faith, aiming to heal the wounds of colonizing religion and create a welcoming space for topics often considered taboo in religious spaces. For the first time, Teología Sin Vergüenza is now in English.

Join in our community of Sinvergüenzas by visiting our Teología Sin Vergüenza homepage or our Spanish WhatsApp Lista de Difusión. If you’d like to support this cutting-edge movement of ferocious Latinx power building, please make a donation.

https://soulforce.org/donate/

Find episode transcripts at https://soulforce.org/podcast/

In this season finale, host Nadia Arellano, Associate Director at Soulforce, guides listeners through a year-in-review from 'Friday From the Archives,' highlighting the organization's steadfast commitment to ending religious and political oppression of LGBTQIA+ people. This episode features 12 reflections that encapsulate the highs and lows of 2025, including escalating state-sanctioned violence, ICE raids, and the resilience of marginalized communities. Key voices from the Soulforce community, including Reverend Alba Onofrio, will present the reflections, sharing powerful messages of hope, resistance, and the enduring strength of the LGBTQIA+ community. Each reflection underscores the importance of solidarity, creative defiance, and unwavering commitment to justice amidst ongoing challenges.

You’ll find the start time of each reflection listed below. Whether you listen in one sitting or savor a reflection each day, let this episode inspire your own end‑of‑year meditation.

00:00 Introduction to 12 Reflections from Soulforce: A 2025 Retrospective

04:15 Reflection #1 We’re still here Read by: Rev. Alba Onofrio

10:20 Reflection #2 The Serpentdove Read by: Bryony Dick

16:39 Reflection #3 Gratitude and hope Read by: Orion Johnstone

26:36 Reflection #4 Holy troublemakers Read by: Maura Fernandez 

34:40 Reflection #5 ICE raids and standing against supremacy Read by: Nadia Arellano

40:52 Reflection #6 No Kings, Yas Queens Read by: Cole Parke-West

49:29 Reflection #7 Relentless Resistance Read by: Meg Sharkey

58:12 Reflection #8 We are the ones we’re waiting for Read by: phoenix rahel

01:05 Reflection #9 Our future is not set Read by: Andrea Cappa 

01:13:52 Reflection #10 Doing the work, connecting community Read by: Anar Amin

01:20:52 Reflection #11 Responding to ICE’s Spiritual Terrorism Read by: Andrea Cappa

01:30:44 Reflection #12 Changing the narrative Read by: Maura Fernandez

01:39:47 Conclusion: Until next year

This episode marks the season finale of Friday From the Archives. After next week’s finale of TSV: Shameless Theology and Love Letters from Reverend Sex, the Soulforce Podcast Channel will take a six‑week break before returning with a new season in early 2026. In the meantime, we invite you to revisit past episodes you may have missed, share your favorite moments with friends, and send us your feedback or suggestions for next season. Your voices help shape the future of this show, and we look forward to returning with even more powerful conversations. Leave a comment on this episode wherever you listen to podcasts, find us on social media @soulforceorg or email us at [email protected]

Friday From the Archives is hosted by Nadia Arellano, the Associate Director of Soulforce. 

The other content on this channel is Hosted by Rev. Sex (Rev. Alba Onofrio - Executive Director of Soulforce). Soulforce’s podcast channel offers connection, reflection, and community for anyone feeling spiritually marginalized or exiled but still resiliently faithful while centering dialogue on Queer, trans, and feminist theology.

The platform gathers people of diverse Christian denominations, pastors, activists, and scholars to discuss gender identity, sex, and pleasure in the context of faith, aiming to heal the wounds of colonizing religion and create a welcoming space for topics often considered taboo in religious spaces.

Join in our community of Sinvergüenzas by visiting our Teología Sin Vergüenza homepage or our Spanish WhatsApp Lista de Difusión. If you’d like to support this cutting-edge movement of ferocious Latinx power building, please make a donation.

https://soulforce.org/donate/

Find episode transcripts at https://soulforce.org/podcast/

In this Advent episode, Reverend Sex reframes joy as a form of sacred resistance—one that refuses the binary logic of white Christian Supremacy. Drawing from decolonial theology, queer Latina spirituality, and Marian devotion, the episode invites listeners to hold grief and joy together while recovering Mary—not as a symbol of submission, but as a protagonist in a long lineage of anti‑imperial resistance.

• Resisting Binary Thinking: How white Christian Supremacy trains us to see the world in opposites (good/bad, order/chaos, straight/gay) and why liberation requires rejecting those frames.
• Joy as Resistance: Joy is not denial of grief or injustice; it is a deep, embodied commitment to a future shaped by justice, mercy, and collective liberation.
• Mary Reclaimed: Mary as Theotokos and freedom fighter—rooted in a resistance community under Roman occupation.
• Our Lady of Guadalupe: An indigenous apparition appearing amid colonial violence—affirming the divine worth of Indigenous peoples and the persistence of ancestral resistance.

• Luke 1:46–55 — The Magnificat (Canticle of Mary)

• Joy and sorrow are not opposites; they coexist within the full human experience.
• Mary’s “yes” is not passive obedience but a courageous commitment to a costly, liberative future.
• Ancestral memory and resistance sustain hope across generations.

• Sit with moments of joy without guilt, even amid grief or rage.
• Reflect on Mary’s Magnificat as a personal and communal commitment to justice.
• Honor ancestral legacies of resistance that make present joy possible.

Hosted by Rev. Sex (Rev. Alba Onofrio - Executive Director of Soulforce), this podcast channel offers connection, reflection, and community for anyone feeling spiritually marginalized or exiled but still resiliently faithful while centering dialogue on Queer, trans, and feminist theology.

The platform gathers people of diverse Christian denominations, pastors, activists, and scholars to discuss gender identity, sex, and pleasure in the context of faith, aiming to heal the wounds of colonizing religion and create a welcoming space for topics often considered taboo in religious spaces.

Join in our community of Sinvergüenzas by visiting our Teología Sin Vergüenza homepage or our Spanish WhatsApp Lista de Difusión. If you’d like to support this cutting-edge movement of ferocious Latinx power building, please make a donation.

https://soulforce.org/donate/

Find episode transcripts at https://soulforce.org/podcast/

Rev. Alba welcomes CasSandra Calin, a Queer, feminist, Black-Cuban healer, who is passionate about spirit work, identity, divinity and pleasure. Together, they explore what it means to claim shamelessness as a spiritual, political, and embodied practice, especially for Black, Queer, and diasporic people whose lives have been shaped by religion, race, gender, and colonial identity rubrics.

CasSandra reflects on growing up with multilayered shame coded as holiness, humility, and goodness—stories reinforced by Christianity and white Christian Supremacy that fractured connection to body, desire, culture, and self. From reclaiming Cuban identity without fluency or permission, to navigating Afro-Latinidad, anti-Blackness, exoticization, and erasure, this episode traces a powerful arc from performance and respectability toward belonging in one’s own body. CasSandra and Rev. Alba talk about diaspora, the queer and trans church in Cuba, ancestral recognition, and the profound healing that happens in community.

The conversation moves into spiritual violence—how God-language is weaponized to justify harm—and the slow, liberatory work of shedding those narratives. Rev. Alba shares how queerness, therapy, prayer, food, fire, poetry, and nature have become sites of resistance, healing, and pleasure. We discuss the difference between being “gay” and being queer, agency as a spiritual muscle, therapy as ministry, and the questions that can ground us in an overwhelming political moment. We close by honoring ancestors—blood, chosen, intellectual, poetic—and the feminine, magnetic, expansive lineages that make survival, joy, and freedom possible.

CasSandra Calin (she/her/hers) is a queer, feminist, Black-Cuban healer, who is passionate about spirit work, identity, divinity and pleasure. She has recently returned to school to obtain her Doctorate of Social Work. Her intention is to study the mental and spiritual wellness of LGBTQ+ activists. CasSandra is overjoyed to have been a part of Soulforce’s work to sabotage white Christian Supremacy since she first joined the 2015-16 Soulforce Southeast House Fellowship.

Hosted by Rev. Sex (Rev. Alba Onofrio - Executive Director of Soulforce), this podcast channel offers connection, reflection, and community for anyone feeling spiritually marginalized or exiled but still resiliently faithful while centering dialogue on Queer, trans, and feminist theology.

TSV seeks to decolonize faith, mixing theological education with real-life experiences to support human rights and liberation. Initially launched in Spanish, TSV addresses the monopolization of religious discourse by the far right. The platform gathers people of diverse Christian denominations, pastors, activists, and scholars to discuss gender identity, sex, and pleasure in the context of faith, aiming to heal the wounds of colonizing religion and create a welcoming space for topics often considered taboo in religious spaces. For the first time, Teología Sin Vergüenza is now in English.

Join in our community of Sinvergüenzas by visiting our Teología Sin Vergüenza homepage or our Spanish WhatsApp Lista de Difusión. If you’d like to support this cutting-edge movement of ferocious Latinx power building, please make a donation.

https://soulforce.org/donate/

Find episode transcripts at https://soulforce.org/podcast/

In this intimate “Love Letter,” Reverend Sex reflects on Advent’s theme of peace through a decolonial, justice-centered lens, challenging the idea that peace is simply the absence of conflict. Instead, this episode invites listeners into a deeper understanding of peace as integrity, sacred rest, and the spiritual discipline of doing the best we can amid injustice, exhaustion, and collective grief. From personal storytelling to global witness, the letter names the tension between “no justice, no peace” and the holy invitation to remain grounded, connected, and accountable to ourselves, our communities, and the divine.

This episode offers a prayerful meditation for sacred timekeepers, agitators, caregivers, and anyone struggling to imagine peace in a world shaped by violence and displacement. Reverend Sex explores peace as an interdependent practice—rooted in trust, compassion, and shared responsibility—and invites listeners to practice a form of holy rest that does not abandon the work of liberation, but sustains it. The episode closes with a communal prayer and a call to share, reflect, and continue building life-giving, decolonized faith spaces together.

Hosted by Rev. Sex (Rev. Alba Onofrio - Executive Director of Soulforce), this podcast channel offers connection, reflection, and community for anyone feeling spiritually marginalized or exiled but still resiliently faithful while centering dialogue on Queer, trans, and feminist theology.

The platform gathers people of diverse Christian denominations, pastors, activists, and scholars to discuss gender identity, sex, and pleasure in the context of faith, aiming to heal the wounds of colonizing religion and create a welcoming space for topics often considered taboo in religious spaces.

Join in our community of Sinvergüenzas by visiting our Teología Sin Vergüenza homepage or our Spanish WhatsApp Lista de Difusión. If you’d like to support this cutting-edge movement of ferocious Latinx power building, please make a donation.

https://soulforce.org/donate/

Find episode transcripts at https://soulforce.org/podcast/

What does it mean to create a church that includes everyone? From marginalized youth, to underprivileged families, all the way to the virtual realm where those who can't attend in person worship can find community online?

In this vibrant episode, host Reverend Sex and guest Yadi Martínez-Reyna explore unique facets of ministry with a focus on queer inclusion and creative solutions. The conversation dives into personal experiences of advocacy, the creation of safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth, and radically inclusive practices within both real and virtual communities. Rev. Yadi shares their journey from a conservative upbringing in Texas to becoming a prominent figure in youth ministry and an ordained pastor in the virtual realm of Second Life. The episode highlights the innovative approaches used to support marginalized youth and the significance of providing inclusive spiritual care. Additionally, it touches on the personal challenges and rewards of raising a grandchild and re-learning approaches to education and parenting. Listeners are invited to reflect on the profound impact of community, radical authenticity, and creative adaptability.

00:35 Identity and Shamelessness

02:26 Life on the Border

04:30 Challenges in Youth Ministry

05:41 Innovative Youth Ministry Approaches

11:13 Creating Safe Spaces for LGBTQ+ Youth

21:03 Navigating Ministry in a Virtual World

31:36 A Unique Baptism Experience

32:50 Virtual Reality and Accessibility

35:05 Memorials in Virtual Worlds

37:06 Continuing a Legacy

45:41 The Role of a Virtual Pastor

48:07 Personal Reflections and Family Life

56:06 Ancestral Wisdom and Gratitude

The Rev. Yadi Martínez-Reyna (M.Div.) is bilingual Latinx gender non-binary artist, a borderlander, a certified Spiritual Director, and founder of Color Splash Out, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating safe and brave spaces for LGBTQ+ Youth and their ally friends. Rev. Yadi is a co-pastor at First UCC in Second Life (firstuccsl.org), a virtual church with real standing in the Southern California Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ. 

Hosted by Rev. Sex (Rev. Alba Onofrio - Executive Director of Soulforce), this podcast channel offers connection, reflection, and community for anyone feeling spiritually marginalized or exiled but still resiliently faithful while centering dialogue on Queer, trans, and feminist theology.

TSV seeks to decolonize faith, mixing theological education with real-life experiences to support human rights and liberation. Initially launched in Spanish, TSV addresses the monopolization of religious discourse by the far right. The platform gathers people of diverse Christian denominations, pastors, activists, and scholars to discuss gender identity, sex, and pleasure in the context of faith, aiming to heal the wounds of colonizing religion and create a welcoming space for topics often considered taboo in religious spaces. For the first time, Teología Sin Vergüenza is now in English.

Join in our community of Sinvergüenzas by visiting our Teología Sin Vergüenza homepage or our Spanish WhatsApp Lista de Difusión. If you’d like to support this cutting-edge movement of ferocious Latinx power building, please make a donation.

https://soulforce.org/donate/

Find episode transcripts at https://soulforce.org/podcast/

Reverend Sex invites listeners into an intimate reflection on sacred time, queer survival, and the fierce, embodied hope we carry into the Advent season. Coming to us in a moment of exhaustion, tenderness, and deep yearning for connection, Rev. Sex opens up about the loss many of us feel after leaving church spaces—particularly the loss of shared ritual, rhythm, and timekeeping that once gave shape to our lives.

As the community enters the first week of Advent, Rev. Sex reclaims this season as a site of resistance to consumerism and despair, offering an invitation to find grounding outside the pressures of capitalism, comparison, and holiday perfectionism. Instead, Rev. Sex centers the ancient practice of preparing for light in the darkest time of year—a reminder shared by many cultures long before Christianity.

This episode explores:

• Why sacred time matters, especially for those who’ve left traditional religious spaces
• Advent as a queer and decolonial practice, and a counter-ritual to capitalist holiday frenzy
• The complexity of hope, and why hopelessness has become one of our community’s most dangerous epidemics
• Rejecting passive optimism and the “Deus ex Machina” myth that someone else will save us
• Hope as embodied commitment—a gritty, resilient, deeply grounded force that rises bloodied but unbroken
• How LGBTQIA+, immigrant, feminist, and earth-based communities embody hope generation after generation
• Prayer as both intention and action, and how hope works the same way
• Building a future where we thrive, through sustained collective resistance

Hosted by Rev. Sex (Rev. Alba Onofrio - Executive Director of Soulforce), this podcast channel offers connection, reflection, and community for anyone feeling spiritually marginalized or exiled but still resiliently faithful while centering dialogue on Queer, trans, and feminist theology.

The platform gathers people of diverse Christian denominations, pastors, activists, and scholars to discuss gender identity, sex, and pleasure in the context of faith, aiming to heal the wounds of colonizing religion and create a welcoming space for topics often considered taboo in religious spaces.

Join in our community of Sinvergüenzas by visiting our Teología Sin Vergüenza homepage or our Spanish WhatsApp Lista de Difusión. If you’d like to support this cutting-edge movement of ferocious Latinx power building, please make a donation.

https://soulforce.org/donate/

Find episode transcripts at https://soulforce.org/podcast/

Reverend Sex and guest Jessica Vazquez Torres engage in a profound discussion about the complexities of identity, faith, and home within the context of the Puerto Rican diaspora. The conversation explores various personal experiences and reflections, spanning topics from the significance of familial and cultural terms, the challenges and transformative potential of diasporic existence, to the spiritual and political dimensions of community building. Key themes include the nuanced intersection of religion and colonialism, and how Latino communities navigate their multifaceted identities while striving for liberation. The episode concludes with a touching reflection on ancestral influence and the imperative of creating meaningful connections for future generations.

00:00 Welcome and Introduction

00:13 Exploring Identity and Personal Connections

03:55 Defining Home and Diaspora

06:46 Navigating Diasporic Experiences

09:23 The Role of Community and Belonging

23:19 Faith, Religion, and Cultural Identity

31:46 Colonial History and Its Impact

37:21 Imposing Protestant American Christianity

38:26 Impact of American Middle-Class Values

39:33 Colonial Project and Diaspora

41:09 Bad Bunny and Puerto Rican Identity

48:01 Decolonization and Latinidad

01:07:38 Spiritual Ancestors and Home

Jessica Vazquez Torres (She/Her) is a 1.5 generation queer Latina of Puerto Rican descent shaped by 30 years living and working in the southern and midwestern United States. Based in Muwekma Ohlone Tribal land most commonly known as Oakland, CA, she brings over 20 years of experience organizing for racial justice—especially within religious institutions. Jessica’s intersectional lens and lived experience fuel powerful conversations on equity, identity, and transformation.

Hosted by Rev. Sex (Rev. Alba Onofrio - Executive Director of Soulforce), this podcast channel offers connection, reflection, and community for anyone feeling spiritually marginalized or exiled but still resiliently faithful while centering dialogue on Queer, trans, and feminist theology.

TSV seeks to decolonize faith, mixing theological education with real-life experiences to support human rights and liberation. Initially launched in Spanish, TSV addresses the monopolization of religious discourse by the far right. The platform gathers people of diverse Christian denominations, pastors, activists, and scholars to discuss gender identity, sex, and pleasure in the context of faith, aiming to heal the wounds of colonizing religion and create a welcoming space for topics often considered taboo in religious spaces. For the first time, Teología Sin Vergüenza is now in English.

Join in our community of Sinvergüenzas by visiting our Teología Sin Vergüenza homepage or our Spanish WhatsApp Lista de Difusión. If you’d like to support this cutting-edge movement of ferocious Latinx power building, please make a donation.

https://soulforce.org/donate/

Find episode transcripts at https://soulforce.org/podcast/

This episode is a heartfelt exploration of prayer, aimed at those who feel alienated by traditional religious practices or believe that God doesn't want to hear from them. With an emphasis on God's omnipresence and the concept of 'Imago Dei,' Reverend Sex shares their personal belief that every individual carries a spark of the divine within them. The episode offers guidance on how to rekindle the practice of prayer through non-traditional methods and personal connections, encouraging listeners to find their unique way to communicate with the divine. The episode concludes with a prayer and a call to action for listeners to share their experiences and engage with the Soulforce community.

00:00 Introduction to Love Letters with Reverend Sex

00:51 Personal Reflections and Connection

02:03 The Importance of Prayer

02:50 Understanding the Divine and Imago Dei

07:33 Reconnecting with Prayer

11:20 Practical Tips for Prayer

22:30 Dealing with Silence and Judgment

25:42 Concluding Prayer and Final Thoughts

29:59 Closing Remarks and Call to Action

Hosted by Rev. Sex (Rev. Alba Onofrio - Executive Director of Soulforce), this podcast channel offers connection, reflection, and community for anyone feeling spiritually marginalized or exiled but still resiliently faithful while centering dialogue on Queer, trans, and feminist theology.

The platform gathers people of diverse Christian denominations, pastors, activists, and scholars to discuss gender identity, sex, and pleasure in the context of faith, aiming to heal the wounds of colonizing religion and create a welcoming space for topics often considered taboo in religious spaces.

Join in our community of Sinvergüenzas by visiting our Teología Sin Vergüenza homepage or our Spanish WhatsApp Lista de Difusión. If you’d like to support this cutting-edge movement of ferocious Latinx power building, please make a donation.

https://soulforce.org/donate/

Find episode transcripts at https://soulforce.org/podcast/