Reverend Alba Onofrio is a public theologian and spiritual activist rooted in the US South engaged in human rights work for over 20 years throughout the US, Latin America, and East Africa. As a Queer, feminist Christian pastor, their ministry works at the intersections of religion, gender and sexuality to heal the wounds of spiritual violence and weaponized religion. They hold a Masters of Divinity from Vanderbilt Divinity School and serve as a Global Presbyter for The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries (TFAM).
Also known as Reverend Sex and co-founder of the Sexual Liberation Collective, their global education work aims to eradicate shame and fear around bodies and sex in order to reclaim pleasure and desire as potent centers of sacred knowledge, healing, and spiritual praxis.
They are the co-founder of a bilingual digital platform focused on Queer-Trans Latinx feminist theologies from Latinoamérica and its diaspora in the United States with an online following in over 47 countries. That platform hosts a variety of free digital content including: Shameless Theology podcast, Teología Sin Vergüenza podcast, Love Letters from Reverend Sex, and the Church of the Queerly Beloved.
They currently serve as Executive Director and Spiritual Strategist for Soulforce, an international LGBTQIA+ social justice organization. Reverend Alba Onofrio has published a series of theological resources on liberatory approaches to the Bible and uncovering the ideologies of white Christian Supremacy that have been translated into 7 languages and distributed worldwide.
Their newest publication is a full-length book called Spiritual Violence: Religious Phenomena that Defile the Faith that introduces the concept of white Christian Supremacy and the weaponization of religion that leads to Spiritual Violence, Spiritual Terrorism, Religious Abuse, and Spiritual Trauma. Grounded in Queer-Trans feminism, pastoral and practical theology, and cultural studies, this book provides historical context, ethnographic case studies, somatic healing exercises, and self-assessments to deepen understanding and equip readers with practical tools for resistance and healing.
