Kai Lin 凯灵 (Sarah) Ngu
Born in Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia, my family moved to the United States when I was 10 years old. I graduated from Columbia University, lived in NYC for a decade, got a MA from Yale Divinity School and now I am a PhD student (Anthropology-History) at University of Michigan where I study queerness, animism and religion in Southeast Asia. They/them is good with me.
I write and speak on religion, LGBTQ histories, class, and race.
Bylines: The Revealer, Guardian US, Vice, Vox, Asian American Writers Workshop, Religion & Politics, Jacobin, Sojourners, Public Radio International, South China Morning Post, The Slant, Democratic Left, and Splinter News.
Best op-ed (2024) from American Society of Journalists and Authors
Religious News Association Award for Religion Reporting Excellence: Third Place (2021) for Religion & Politics piece on young American Christians and socialism
Speaking: Cornell University, Duke Divinity, Creating Change (National LGBTQ Taskforce), Q Christian Fellowship and The Reformation Project on non-white histories of queerness, mainly in Asia and Pacific Islands.
Twitter (@kailinngu)
WRITING
“My family came to the US to start a new life. An obscure credit score held us back” (The Guardian US, 2023)
“Drinking Ash Water: A Letter to My Mother” (Yale SEAM 2023)
“How purity culture and anti-Asian racism intersect in some white evangelical circles” (NBC Asian America, 2021)
“On the sacred space of bathrooms for queer and trans folks” (Bearings Online, 2022)
“Why ‘Brainwashed’ Is a Lazy Accusation” (Bearings Online, 2022)
“Postcolonial Faith: Grappling with the Legacy of Missionaries in my Family” (Bearings Online, 2021)
“A God Who Cleaves: Coming Out, Parents, and Queerness” (Bearings Online, 2021)
“The Secret Life of My Communist Great Aunt: A Hagiography” (The Revealer, 2020)
“‘Not what it used to be’: in New York, Flushing’s Asian residents brace for gentrification” (Guardian US, 2020)
“Inside the new LGBTQ-affirming church in New York’s Chinatown” (NBC Asian America, 2020)
“The West Can’t Lay Claim to LGBTQ2 Acceptance,” (Broadview Magazine, 2020)
“Religious Leaders Work to Respond to the Coronavirus Pandemic” (Religion & Politics, 2020)
“The Spiritual Journey of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez” (Religion & Politics, 2020)
“Why These Young American Christians Embraced Socialism” (Religion & Politics, 2020)
“In Search of Queer Ancestors” (Asian American Writers Workshop, 2019)
“Will luxury towers edge out the last of the working-class Chinese in New York’s iconic Chinatown?” (Vox, 2019)
“Some Asian Governments Claim LGBTQ Culture Is a Western Invention: Here’s Why That’s Garbage” (Vice, 2019)
“China embraced gay ‘marriage’ long before Taiwan’s law. The West perverted history” (SCMP, 2019)
“A Personal Reflection on the UMC’s decision” (Religious Socialism, 2019)
“Redefining Family” (Inheritance, 2018)
“Overlooked indigenous representation in Crazy Rich Asians” (The Slant, 2018)
“A hunger strike on Bowery” (Splinter News, 2018)
“Shared Foundations: CWA Union Training” (Jacobin, 2018)
“Those Who Leave, Those Who Stay: 4 Profiles of Queer Evangelicals” (Sojourners, 2017)
“Do-Good Exploitation: THINX” (Jacobin, 2017)
“Solidarity has many names” (Democratic Left, DSA, 2017)
“A long wait for a father’s return: Anwar Ibrahim’s daughter” (Public Radio International, 2015)
OTHER PROJECTS
I’m currently a board member of PANAATWM, Pacific Asian North American Asian Theology and Women in Ministry, and Transmission Ministry Collective, a nonprofit for transgender Christians.
I worked as the community director on the executive council at Forefront Brooklyn Church. I cofounded ChurchClarity, a database that scores churches for how easy it is to find their LGBTQ and Women in Leadership policies on their websites.
I hosted the Religion & Socialism podcast, which is produced by Devin Briski and is platformed by the Democratic Socialists of America’ Religion and Socialism working group.
SERMONS
“Dealing with Tyranny in the Workplace” (August 2020)
“Powers and Principalities: White Supremacy, Anti-Semitism, and Origins of Racism” (July 2020)
“How can we honor our parents when we deeply disagree with them” June 2020)
“What does spirituality look like when you can’t go to church?” (May 2020)
“Quit Being an Ally” (Feb 2020)
“Feminine Jesus” (July 2019)
“Queer Eunuch” (March 2019)
Ambiguity is Endemic in Evangelicalism: From Church Policies, to Evangelism, to Pregnancy Centers (Essay, 2019)
“Imagination as Resistance: Capitalism & the Commons” (2018)
“Decolonizing Christianity: My Family’s Story” (2018)
PANELS
Engaging Christianities and Socialisms, “How can Christian Socialists Build Deeper Solidarities?” in April 2021 with fellow panelists Dr. Obery Hendricks, Dr. Jeremy Posadas, and Dr. Timothy Eberhart. It was hosted by The Wendland-Cook Program in Religion and Justice at Vanderbilt Divinity School and the Institute for Christian Socialism.
FELLOWSHIPS & AWARDS
Collegeville Institute: 2021-22 Emerging Writers Mentorship Program
Trinity Fellows Academy (2012-2013): Fully funded residential nine-month theological fellowship