Diego Garcia Rodriguez

Diego García Rodríguez
AwardsLeverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship;[3] UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowship[4]
Academic background
Alma materUniversity College London (PhD)[1]
Academic work
DisciplineSociology
Sub-disciplineMigration studies; asylum studies; gender and sexuality studies; sociology of religion
InstitutionsUniversity of Nottingham[1]
Notable worksGender, Sexuality and Islam in Contemporary Indonesia: Queer Muslims and Their Allies (2023)[2]

Diego García Rodríguez is a Spanish sociologist based in the United Kingdom whose research focuses on the intersections of religion, gender and sexuality, and forced migration, with particular attention to LGBTIQ+ asylum and the politics of “homosecular” assumptions in asylum processes.[5] He has held a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship at the University of Nottingham and was named a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship award-holder at the University of Leicester.[3][4]

Education

García Rodríguez completed a PhD in Gender and Sexuality Studies at University College London, and has also studied at Lund University (Asian Studies) and the Complutense University of Madrid (Journalism).[1]

Career

García Rodríguez has been based at the University of Nottingham as a Leverhulme Research Fellow (Early Career Fellow), leading the project Too Religious To Be Queer, which examines how faith and spirituality shape the experiences of LGBTIQ+ people seeking asylum in the UK.[3][1] In 2025, the University of Leicester announced him as a recipient of a UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Future Leaders Fellowship for a comparative, multi-country research programme on LGBTIQ+ asylum and policy reform.[4]

Research

His scholarship includes ethnographic research on queer Muslim lives and allyship in Indonesia, published in his monograph Gender, Sexuality and Islam in Contemporary Indonesia: Queer Muslims and Their Allies (Routledge, 2023).[2] In the UK asylum context, his work has explored how “homosecular” ideas—assumptions that queerness and religiosity are incompatible—can shape institutional credibility assessments and support structures for claimants.[5][6]

Public engagement

In 2024, García Rodríguez was interviewed by BBC Sport on religion and LGBTIQ+ inclusion in football, including discussion of the Premier League's Rainbow Laces campaign.[7] In 2024, his research on LGBTIQ+ lives, family, and religion in Indonesia was cited by El País in a feature on queer experiences in Indonesia.[8] In 2025, he was quoted by the Washington Blade on Japanese electoral politics and debates over LGBTIQ+ rights.[9] He has also contributed writing to outlets including ABC Religion & Ethics and has had commentary syndicated in news aggregators.[10][11]

Queer(y)ing Asylum Podcast

García Rodríguez hosts Queer(y)ing Asylum, a podcast on LGBTIQ+ asylum and forced migration featuring conversations with scholars, practitioners, artists, and people with lived experience.[12][13]

Queer(y)ing Asylum Symposium

García Rodríguez founded the Queer(y)ing Asylum Symposium at the University of Nottingham on 8 November 2023, which the university described as a ground-breaking event bringing together national and international participants.[14][15] The symposium continued as a conference series, with a 2024 edition hosted by the University of East London in London (9 November 2024) and a third edition hosted by Lund University (30–31 October 2025), which Lund University described as a leading global conference on queer asylum.[16][17]

Selected works

  • García Rodríguez, D. (2023). Gender, Sexuality and Islam in Contemporary Indonesia: Queer Muslims and Their Allies. Routledge.[2]
  • García Rodríguez, D. (2023). “Critiquing Trends and Identifying Gaps in the Literature on LGBTQ Refugees and Asylum-Seekers”. Refugee Survey Quarterly.[18]
  • Garcia Rodriguez, D. (2025). “You are a gay man, and you’re also Christian – how is this possible? Homosecularism, religion and LGBTIQ+ asylum in the UK”. Ethnic and Racial Studies.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Diego Garcia Rodriguez". University of Nottingham. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  2. ^ a b c "Gender, Sexuality and Islam in Contemporary Indonesia". Routledge. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  3. ^ a b c "Too Religious To Be Queer". University of Nottingham (ICEMiC). Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  4. ^ a b c "Leicester sociologist named as UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship winner". University of Leicester. 18 September 2025. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  5. ^ a b "Too religious to be queer? Faith and LGBTIQ+ asylum in the UK". University of Nottingham. 1 May 2025. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  6. ^ a b Garcia Rodriguez, Diego (7 April 2025). "You are a gay man, and you're also Christian – how is this possible? Homosecularism, religion and LGBTIQ+ asylum in the UK". Ethnic and Racial Studies. doi:10.1080/01419870.2025.2484415. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  7. ^ "Diego Garcia Rodriguez invited as expert to BBC on religion and LGBTQ+ inclusion". University of Nottingham. 16 December 2024. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  8. ^ Bellante, Claudia (5 April 2024). "Experiencias 'queer' en Indonesia: perseguidos por la ley, ocultos ante la familia". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  9. ^ Kumar, Ankush (28 July 2025). "Anti-LGBTQ party gains power in Japanese Diet". Washington Blade. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  10. ^ Alfikar, Amar; Garcia Rodriguez, Diego (2 September 2025). "'Mercy to all creation': How LGBTIQ+ Muslims are finding spaces to belong in Indonesia". ABC Religion & Ethics. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  11. ^ "Many people think it's impossible to be LGBTQ+ and religious". Yahoo News UK. 27 June 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  12. ^ "Queer(y)ing Asylum". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  13. ^ "Queer(y)ing Asylum". Spotify. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  14. ^ "One-day ICEMiC Symposium "Queer(y)ing Asylum"". University of Nottingham. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  15. ^ "First Queer(y)ing Asylum Symposium event success". University of Nottingham. 10 November 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  16. ^ "Centre for Research on Migration, Refugees and Belonging". University of East London. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  17. ^ "3rd International Queer(y)ing Asylum Symposium". Lund University (Sociology of Law Department). Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  18. ^ García Rodríguez, Diego (2023). "Critiquing Trends and Identifying Gaps in the Literature on LGBTQ Refugees and Asylum-Seekers". Refugee Survey Quarterly. 42 (4): 518–541. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
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