S3E6: Sacred Spaces, Queer Faces with Dr. Samantha Costa

Welcome back to Bisexual Killjoy! In this episode, “Sacred Spaces, Queer Faces,” we sit down with Dr. Samantha Costa to explore the fraught and fascinating relationship between bi+ identity and faith. From the lingering trauma of “pray the gay away” ideologies to the quieter pressures to suppress bi+ness in religious spaces, we unpack how bi+ people navigate spiritual lives in the face of erasure and exclusion. Together, we ask: Is it possible to hold onto faith without organized religion? Can bi+ people build spiritual practices that reflect their whole selves? And what might a theology of in-betweenness look like in a world that demands certainty? This conversation honors the sacred in the liminal and invites listeners to imagine new forms of queer belonging, both spiritual and communal.

Samantha Costa is a queer non-binary scholar, survivor, and storyteller exploring the sacred in the wake of religious trauma. A professor and social researcher, their work focuses on LGBTQIA+ mental health, gender identity, and spiritual reclamation. Raised Catholic in an Irish-Italian family and later disowned alongside their transgender parent, Dr. Costa, now helps others navigate the long road from exile to integration. They earned their PhD in Philosophy and Religion from CIIS and developed the “Seven Freedom Milestones” to map queer journeys toward spiritual wholeness.

Hosted by bi+ academics, writers, and advocates Bailey Merlin and Jace Rios Rivera, Bisexual Killjoy talks all things bisexual (pansexual, omnisexual, plurisexual, and overall bi+ness) because bisexuality isn’t a phase; it’s a phenomenon. 

Were you a Bisexual Killjoy this week? We want to hear from you! Follow us on @bisexualkilljoy on Instagram or email us at bisexualkilljoy@gmail.com. 

Resources

• Douglas, Ezzy, and Fielder, Bronwyn. “Ritual and liminality: Bisexuality within Christianity and Paganism.” Bisexuality, Religion and Spirituality: Critical Perspectives, eds. Andrew Kam-Tuck Yip and Alex Toft. 2020.
• Toft, Alex. Negotiating sexuality and spirituality: The lived experiences of bisexual persons.” Bisexuality, Religion and Spirituality: Critical Perspectives, eds. Andrew Kam-Tuck Yip and Alex Toft. 2020.

Where to find Samantha Costa

• Website: https://samcostaspace.wordpress.com/ 
• TikTok: @thespiritualstudent
• Threads: @the_spiritual_student
• Bluesky: @spiritualstudent.bsky.social