Dr. Linn Marie Tonstad

Dr. Linn Marie Tonstad is a leading voice in contemporary queer theology whose scholarship has reshaped conversations about sexuality, gender, and Christian doctrine. Working at the intersection of systematic theology, feminist theory, and queer theory, Tonstad’s work probes how theological symbol-systems reproduce exclusion even when they appear inclusive. Her books, God and Difference: The Trinity, Sexuality, and the Transformation of Finitude (2016) and Queer Theology: Beyond Apologetics (2018), have become foundational texts for scholars and faith communities seeking critical and rigorous pathways toward theological transformation. As a teacher and public intellectual, Tonstad has brought queer method into conversation with pastoral and ecclesial realities, insisting that theology must begin at the margins and “thrive” there if it is to be faithful, honest, and just.

Linn Marie Tonstad was born in Loma Linda, California, in 1978 and spent her childhood in Norway in a Seventh-day Adventist milieu. Early commitments to intellectual inquiry and theological reflection, which she later described as a formative Adventist emphasis on investigating truth, shaped her vocation. Tonstad completed a B.A. in Religious Studies and Philosophy at La Sierra University (cum laude), followed by an M.A.R. (summa cum laude) at Yale Divinity School, where she earned the Tew Prize. She then completed a Ph.D. in Religious Studies at Yale (2009), producing a dissertation titled Trinity, hierarchy, and difference: Mapping the Christian imaginary (awarded distinction and supported by research fellowships).

From 2009 to 2011, Tonstad was a Lilly Fellow in theology at Valparaiso University. She was appointed to Perkins School of Theology (Southern Methodist University), where she served in the Graduate Program of Religious Studies. In 2012, she joined the faculty of Yale Divinity School; her appointment there has enabled her to combine rigorous academic study with teaching and public engagement across theology and LGBT studies.

Scholars of theological and queer studies have cited Tonstad’s published scholarship. Her first major book, God and Difference (2016), examines Trinitarian discourse and questions how symbolic systems of difference between divine persons and between genders can reproduce hierarchical valuations while claiming inclusivity. Her later work, Queer Theology: Beyond Apologetics (2018), further argues that apologetic strategies that simply seek inclusion for queer people often fail to destabilize the structures that produce exclusion in the first place. Across essays, lectures, and interviews, Tonstad pushes for a theological method that begins begins at the margins and refuses facile replacements of one symbolic hierarchy with another.

Tonstad’s public-facing interviews and writings frequently emphasize method: queer theology as a critical tool rather than an identity chorus, theology that resists ethical closure, and theological imagination that refuses simple substitutions (for instance, replacing masculine divine imagery with feminine terms without attending to the deeper affective work of symbolic systems). She is a member of the American Academy of Religion and continues to shape a generation of scholars and religious leaders who work to connect theological rigor with social justice.

(This biographical statement written by Tiarra Hill from the sources below.)

Biography Date: January 2026

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