Review of Queers in the Kingdom: Let Your Light Shine (2014) by Robert S — 02 Oct 2014

Excellent documentary about about LGBTQ survivors of conservative Christian colleges, using Wheaton as the primary backdrop. These schools not only discriminate against their LGBTQ students, they tend to act as if these emerging support groups do not even exist. The wonderful group One Wheaton was the focus of this documentary, but there are many other such groups from schools like Bob Jones University, Baylor, Gordon, Biola, George Fox and many, many more. These groups exist to provide support for students past and former who are often in great need. This support is manifest in many ways, not just chatting on Facebook or meeting up for social parties - still both great ways for people to interact and provide one another with hope and encouragement. For example, these groups may raise money for therapy for individuals, provide them with housing when their parents kick them out - or when they're kicked out of these schools - and they sometimes even intervene in suicide attempts.

I work with these groups and attended BJU. I know from first-hand experience - as do any of the people portrayed in the documentary - that these schools are almost always unwilling to participate in documentaries like this because they simply do not want to engage in dialogue and communicate with their LGBTQ students and alumni or even admit they exist. That's why you did see them responding in this documentary.