Washington, D.C. — The debate within America’s faith traditions over the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, or LGBT, Americans has grown in recent years, and many American faiths have begun to include the LGBT faithful into their communities in ways they have not in the past. Unfortunately, transgender people of faith are often less understood—and subsequently less included—in their faith communities than other LGBT Americans.
The Center for American Progress’ Bishop Gene Robinson has taken a look at how the tenets of the Jewish and Christian faiths point toward greater inclusion of transgender Americans and how members of that community have helped to shape and reshape his own faith.
“I have been personally affected by many transgender faithful—two of whom are featured prominently in this document—and what I have learned is that there is nothing in the teachings of Jewish and Christian faiths that would preclude transgender people from being accepted,” said Bishop Gene Robinson, CAP Senior Fellow and author of the resource. “But it is up to members of those faiths to build transgender-inclusive churches and synagogues. Without a better understanding of gender identity and religion, people of faith cannot hope to build the houses of worship and community it is clear our faiths require.”
The resource, which is described in the preface as a “thank you” and a “welcome” to the transgender community, is a first-person look at how faith, the Scriptures, and conversations with transgender people have shaped Bishop Robinson’s views on gender and sexuality and, importantly, how those views of inclusion and understanding of transgender people are in line with the bedrock principles of the Jewish and Christian faiths. The resource was released during a discussion hosted by the Center for American Progress in which Bishop Robinson and transgender advocate and Baptist minister Allyson Robinson discussed the inclusion of transgender people in the faith community.
Click here to read the resource.
Related resources:
For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, contact Tom Caiazza at [email protected] or 202.481.7141.
###