UNC junior gains attention for 'God is Gay' poem

"What if I told you God is gay?"

UNC junior Elliot Darrow asks the question at the beginning of a now-viral video of a poem he wrote as a freshman.

In a controversial poem that gained internet popularity and sparked a debate about the complicated relationship between religion and sexuality, Darrow questioned the Bible's view of homosexuality.

A YouTube video with nearly 100,000 views shows Darrow performing the piece in the finals of the April 2013 College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational at Barnard College in New York City. Since May 11, the video has been shared more than 500 times.

Darrow said he can't pinpoint exactly what spurred him to write the poem, but said a lot of it was inspired by more conservative churches’ views of homosexuality.

“I saw signs that said, ‘Gays burn,’ and it really rubbed me the wrong way. It wasn’t the message I learned God was about, and from there I just kind of wrote,” said Darrow, who identifies as Presbyterian.

The YouTube video is titled "God is Gay," but Darrow originally titled the poem simply "God Is."

Darrow, a dramatic art major, initially wrote the poem to perform in poetry slams and spoken-word performances. He said he enjoys writing and often performs with groups such as the UNC Wordsmiths, EROT, Sacrificial Poets and The UNC Rejects. Most of his subject matter tends to focus on social justice issues.

He started "God Is," which took him a few days to write, in March of his freshman year.

“I ran it by my roommate, and he said it would never fly,” Darrow said.

Darrow said the spoken-word poetry organization Sacrificial Poets helped him with editing, which took six months.

He said his performance last year at CUPSI was the largest reaction he has gotten from a crowd.

“It seemed to resonate with a lot of people and make them happy,” he said.

Senior Patrick Munchel, secretary of UNC's Sexuality and Gender Alliance, said the poem sends a necessary message.

“It’s a beautiful piece of work," he said. "God very well could have been gay, pansexual, bisexual or asexual, and at the end of the day it shouldn’t matter. God is about love, and being Christian is about accepting others."

Randall Styers, chairman of the religious studies department, said the significance of the poem is the way it challenges people to think deeply about their assumptions.

“Jesus is never identified as having any sexual identity and life in the New Testament," he said. "Part of the power of the poem is using power of shock for people to think Jesus is gay. He’s aiming to be provocative, and that can be a good thing.”

Darrow, who said he identifies as straight, said his motivation in the "God Is" poem is to empower LGBT people.

"I am speaking outside of the gay community, but I do want to speak with and for the gay community.”