"This timely book provides in-depth analysis of the Church of England's Pilling Report on human sexuality and of its 'afterlives' and reception within the church. It traces the genealogy between this report, its older antecedents from the 1970s onwards, and ongoing debates about whether and how the Church of England might formally bless same-sex couples' relationships. Doe incisively shows that well-meant attempts to succeed in holding everyone together might actually deflect the church from a more authentic call, namely to recognize and name its own failure. Doe argues that theological consensus on same-sex relationships may be simply impossible. The book challenges those invested in Church of England tussles over sexuality to consider what would happen if appeals to unity and success were replaced by more honest reflections on the realities of powerlessness, loss, and self-abnegation." -- Susannah Cornwall "This is an important read for anyone longing for change in a Church of England that denies full belonging to LGBTIQ+ people. Doe argues persuasively that the marginalisation of queer voices is baked into the whole culture of the Churchs official deliberation and decision-making. This is powerful and sobering but Doe also holds out the hope that we might learn to think, talk and live together differently." -- Mike Higton "Remarkably, Doe is saying something new and incisive about sexuality and church reports about it. She shows how time after time reports replicate their own vast and unexamined assumptions about power and privilege, method, knowledge, normativity, and so on. A fine, imaginative achievement." -- Adrian Thatcher
