Damien Pascal Domenack
Damien Pascal Domenack, (he/him) is a chaplain, Santero priest, and a candidate for ordination in the Unitarian Universalist tradition whose ministry centers Queer, Transgender, Black, and Brown immigrant communities of which he is a part. Damien is a longtime hospitality professional, prison abolitionist, and founding member of AUdre Lorde Project’s TransJustice. He is a double alum of Vanderbilt Divinity School and is pursuing his PhD in Social Ethics at Drew University. His research focuses on critically investigating the ways in which Afro-diasporic spirituality, and Christianity in particular, encounter the identity and community-shaping forces of the flesh for LGBTQI+ —especially transgender and non-binary—persons of color.
Damien approaches the work of theology and social ethics by weaving interdisciplinary Black Atlantic religion work with decolonial and liberative theology, with its focus on lived religion as a site from which to theologize and investigate how religion is lived in community. His work aims to shift and illuminate the ways memory, story, and relationality contour religious identities. He enjoys art films, improv games, and trains in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.