Diego Garcia Rodriguez


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. 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.

Education

García Rodríguez completed a PhD in Gender and Sexuality Studies at University College London, and has also studied at Lund University and the Complutense University of Madrid.

Career

García Rodríguez has been based at the University of Nottingham as a Leverhulme Research 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. In 2025, the University of Leicester announced him as a recipient of a UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowship for a comparative, multi-country research programme on LGBTIQ+ asylum and policy reform.

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. 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.

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. 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. In 2025, he was quoted by the Washington Blade on Japanese electoral politics and debates over LGBTIQ+ rights. He has also contributed writing to outlets including ABC Religion & Ethics and has had commentary syndicated in news aggregators.

Queer(y)ing Asylum Podcast

García Rodríguez hosts Queering Asylum, a podcast on LGBTIQ+ asylum and forced migration featuring conversations with scholars, practitioners, artists, and people with lived experience.

Queer(y)ing Asylum Symposium

García Rodríguez founded the Queering 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. The symposium continued as a conference series, with a 2024 edition hosted by the University of East London in London and a third edition hosted by Lund University, which Lund University described as a leading global conference on queer asylum.

Selected works

  • García Rodríguez, D.. Gender, Sexuality and Islam in Contemporary Indonesia: Queer Muslims and Their Allies. Routledge.
  • García Rodríguez, D.. “Critiquing Trends and Identifying Gaps in the Literature on LGBTQ Refugees and Asylum-Seekers”. Refugee Survey Quarterly.
  • Garcia Rodriguez, D.. “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.