Christianity and transgender people

In the Old Testament, men with damaged testicles or severed genitals are forbidden from being admitted to religious assemblies.[30]

The New Testament is more ambiguous about gender-variant identities than the Old Testament. Eunuchs (Greek eunochos, similar to Hebrew saris) are indicated as acceptable candidates for evangelism and baptism, as demonstrated in a story about the conversion of an Ethiopian eunuch.[31] At one point, while answering questions about marriage and divorce, Jesus says that "there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven."[32] This has sparked discussion about the significance of the selection of the Ethiopian eunuch as being the first Gentile convert to Christianity. Some argue that the inclusion of a eunuch represents a sexual minority similar to some of those who are included under today's category of transgender, in the context of the time.[33]

Modern Christian denominations vary in their views, but some are accepting. Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religion with roots in liberal Christianity, and it was the first denomination to accept openly transgender people as full members with eligibility to become clergy, and the first to open an Office of Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Concerns.[34][35] In 1988 the first openly transgender person was ordained by the Unitarian Universalist Association.[36] In 2002 Rev. Sean Dennison became the first openly transgender person in the Unitarian Universalist ministry called to serve a congregation; he was called to South Valley UU Society, Salt Lake City, UT.[36] The United Church of Christ General Synod called for full inclusion of transgender persons in 2003.[37] In 2005 Sarah Jones became the first openly transgender person ordained by the Church of England as a priest.[38][39][40] Carol Stone was the first transgender priest, having been ordained in 1978 and transitioning in 2000, then continuing her ministry within the church as a woman.[41] In 2008, the United Methodist Church Judicial Council ruled that transgender pastor Drew Phoenix could keep his position.[42] At the UMC General Conference the same year, several petitions that would have forbidden transgender clergy and added anti-transgender language to the Book of Discipline were rejected.[43] In 2012 the Episcopal Church in the United States approved a change to their nondiscrimination canons to include gender identity and expression.[44] In 2013 Shannon Kearns became the first openly transgender person ordained by the North American Old Catholic Church. In 2014 Megan Rohrer became the first openly transgender leader of a Lutheran congregation (specifically, the Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church of San Francisco.) [45]

Most Christian denominations do not recognize gender transition. A 2000 document from the Catholic Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith concludes that sex reassignment procedures do not change a person’s gender in the eyes of the Church. “The key point,” said the reported document, “is that the transsexual surgical operation is so superficial and external that it does not change the personality. If the person was a male, he remains male. If she was female, she remains female.” The document also concludes that a “sex-change” operation could be morally acceptable in certain extreme cases, but that in all cases transgender people cannot validly marry.[46] Pope Benedict XVI has denounced gender theory, warning that it blurs the distinction between male and female and could thus lead to the "self-destruction" of the human species.[47] He warned against alteration of the term "gender": "What is often expressed and understood by the term 'gender,' is definitively resolved in the self-emancipation of the human being from creation and the Creator," he warned. "Man wants to create himself, and to decide always and exclusively on his own about what concerns him." The Pontiff said this is humanity living "against truth, against the creating Spirit."[48]

In 2006 Albert Mohler, then president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said "Only God has the right to determine gender", adding, "any attempt to alter that creation is an act of rebellion against God." [49][50] He also stated, "Christians are obligated to find our definitions … in the Bible. What the activists want to call 'sex-reassignment surgery' must be seen as a form of bodily mutilation rather than gender correction. The chromosomes will continue to tell the story...Gender is not under our control after all. When a nation's moral rebellion comes down to this level of confusion, we are already in big trouble. A society that can't distinguish between men and women is not likely to find moral clarity in any other area of life." [50] In 2014, the Southern Baptist Convention approved a resolution at its annual meeting stating that "God's design was the creation of two distinct and complementary sexes, male and female" and that "gender identity is determined by biological sex, not by one's self-perception.” [51] Furthermore, the resolution opposes hormone therapy, transition-related procedures, and anything else that would "alter one’s bodily identity", as well as opposing government efforts to "validate transgender identity as morally praiseworthy". [51] Instead, the resolution asks transgender people to "trust in Christ and to experience renewal in the Gospel".[51]

On August 29, 2017, the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood released a manifesto on human sexuality known as the "Nashville Statement". The statement was signed by 150 evangelical leaders, and includes 14 points of belief.[52]

The issue of cross-dressing as a sin is addressed generally, both related to and unrelated to transgender issues. Though cross-dressing (wearing clothes of a different gender), is different from being transgender (identifying as a gender different than that assigned at birth), some denominations do not recognize trans identities, and thus consider post-transition trans people to be cross-dressing.

The Torah contains prohibitions against men wearing women's clothing and vice versa, which is cited as an abomination in Deuteronomy 22:5,[53] and as a result it was once considered taboo in Western society for women to wear clothing traditionally associated with men, except in certain circumstances such as cases of necessity (as per St. Thomas Aquinas's guidelines in the Summa Theologica).[54] Nevertheless, even in the Middle Ages this rule's applicability was occasionally disputed.[55] The Quinisext Council in the 7th century ordered students at the University of Constantinople to stop engaging in transvestitism.[56]

However, there are arguments about whether Jesus abolished the Torah law about clothing.[57] Jesus mentioned "Do not worry about clothes" in Matthew 6:25, Matthew 6:28, and Luke 12:22.