It’s common to see religion and the queer community at odds with each other. Often in America, you see primarily Christian ideologies limiting queer legislature and progress. Because of this very public opposition, many people view religion and queerness as two things that can’t coexist. I think that using media to explore an intersection of religion and queerness, or exploring the tense relationship between them could be beneficial and allow for space to discuss both of these topics in each community.
In 2019 Neil Gaiman wrote a TV series based on his and Terry Pratchett’s 1990 novel both titled Good Omens. Good Omens is a Bible-based story centered around the angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley. The series focuses on the relationship between Aziraphale and Crowley over the course of 6,000 years from before the Garden of Eden to the present day.
Many angels and demons in Good Omens are gender non-conforming. One of the more notable examples of this is the archangel Michael using he/him pronouns while being played by a woman. There are also several other characters in the show who exclusively use they/them pronouns like Muriel and Beelzebub. Along with these side characters the main characters Aziraphale and Crowley, both portrayed by men, are also gender non-conforming.
While the angel Aziraphale, played by Michael Sheen, often presents themself as more masculine, Crowley, played by David Tennant, is often seen drastically shifting their gender presentation throughout the series.
A specific example of Crowley’s gender being referenced happens when a human woman thanks them and tells them they’re “a good lad”. Their response to the claim that they’re good, while being a demon, and being a lad is, “not really, either, but thank you”.
The exploration of divine beings as what we would deem ‘genderqueer’ is a curious one. According to the Bible, angels seem to have been made all at once by God [https://zondervanacademic.com/blog/biblical-facts-angels#:~:text=God%20created%20angels&text=According%20to%20Scripture%2C%20they’re,(Nehemiah%209%3A6)] . With no implied need for reproduction, it would make sense for angels to lack sexes in the human sense. This seems especially probable when angel’s various spiritual forms are taken into account. These divine beings are very much not human.
Gender is described as “socially constructed and expressed” (Gendered Lives 19). Gender is a human social construct that has changed and continues to change over time. Why then do we think that these divine and seemingly immortal beings would conform themselves to human gender expectations?
I think that Good Omens’ representation of divine beings and their genders is a really refreshing. I think that displaying an idea like this in media is a great way to introduce these queer concepts to a Christian audience in a Christian context.
Beyond refreshing expressions of gender Good Omens also introduces multiple queer romances in the series. Three of the most notable of these being between two human women Maggie and Nina, between demon Beezlebub and angel Gabriel, and between the main characters Aziraphale and Crowley.
All three of these romances have a fair amount of screen time, particularly in season two of the show, but of course, the one with the most is that of our main characters. As I said earlier Good Omens follows Aziraphale and Crowley for over 6,000 years with the focus being on their relationship with each other, and how it shifts and forms them into the characters we see in the present day.
As the characters spend more time together and more time on Earth they develop a deep fondness for each other and for humanity. Eventually, they seem to have built much more of an allegiance and understanding between the two of them than they ever had with heaven or hell.
The second season shows the characters much closer than before and many people seem to think they are a couple. They, however, while seeming to like each other have not spoken about their relationship. Crowley still has the fear that Aziraphale would choose heaven over him.
At the end of season two, we see this heart wrenching scene:
Aziraphale begging for Crowley to come back to heaven feels so much like being asked to return to a religion you’ve left. Crowley is a fallen angel who loved being an angel but asked too many questions. For many queer people raised in religion, this is also the case. You ask too many questions and realize you really aren’t as welcome as you thought.
It also seems like Aziraphale represents a queer person still dedicated to the church even if that means staying closeted or denying their queerness.
After the kiss Aziraphale forgives Crowley and Crowley denies this forgiveness. I relate this to the idea of someone forgiving you for your queerness. You can try to forgive it if you view it as a sin, but many queer people have embraced who they are and don’t want to be forgiven by a church that wasn’t there for them and still isn’t there for who they really are.
This entire series feels like a metaphor for the relationship between queer people and religion. As someone who was raised Catholic and is queer, this series means so much to me. It allows me to appreciate the Bible without the bitterness that I’ve developed for it over time. It also helps me examine my own religious guilt and trauma and through this show find a community of other queer people experiencing the same thing.
If you haven’t watched Good Omens yet, I implore you to do so, and share your thoughts on the themes, story, and whether you liked it or not. I also hope that this show inspires others to talk more about this subject in a more neutral light. I won’t say that this show is neutral, but I do think it creates space for both religious and queer people to share in appreciation of themselves and each other.