Needless to say, many faith groups have a long and extensive history of gender and sexuality based discrimination and abuse of power. In addition, many/most groups have not fully acknowledged their history, apologized fully or made significant corrections to structures that have enabled, and even empowered, those who would discriminate against others or abuse their power.
Although others have greater expertise in this area, it is my belief that one of the systemic problems facing the church, in terms gender and sexuality-based discrimination/abuse of power, is that the same people holding the power – and abusing power – are also allowed control over others and their rights to participate fully in the church. For example, men in power have held control over the decision of whether to “allow” women in leadership – despite the fact that the same men, I’m sure, would not allow women to vote on whether men should be allowed to speak from behind the pulpit, or hold leadership positions. This same dynamic has been replicated, too many times to count, as faith groups throughout the centuries have allowed a small group of people (usually men, usually straight) to define, for others (including women and LGBTQ+ members), who is “allowed” full participation in the life of the faith community and under what terms that participation will happen.
It is the firm belief of this website that all abuse and discrimination (especially within faith communities) must end – and has no place in any healthy, welcoming, inclusive faith group. That includes all discrimination/abuse based on gender, sexuality or any other protected status, as well as any limits on women’s access to a full range of reproductive health services or anything else that takes away a person’s basic autonomy over their own body.
This is a system that must change – radically, immediately and permanently. Full inclusion must happen – and the choice to discriminate must not be seen as acceptable in the our faith groups. Welcoming fully does not need to include welcoming discrimination or abuse as a valid policy. Just as schools welcome students fully – while also maintaining strict anti-bullying policies, faith groups must do the same. We can welcome people, while also making it clear that discrimination and abuse have no place in our communities. Without that, we will continue to allow the voices of those who discriminate to overwhelm, and chase away, those who seek a more welcoming and inclusive space. We can, and must, do better. The future of our faith groups depends on it. 😊
Resources:
Faith, Gender and Sexuality
My Church Fired Me After I Came Out As Trans. It Taught Me The Limits Of Its Love. HP:
- Hundreds of Religious Leaders Call for End to L.G.B.T.Q. Conversion Therapy NYT
- Pope Francis backing same sex unions isn’t a surprise. But it’s still a big deal Guardian
- MOSES FALCO: ON FAITH AND LIFE: What is the LGBTQ+ Community Actually Asking of Us?
There’s no topic in which I’ve been engaged more during my adult years than sexuality and the Church. My hope and prayer has been to be able to participate in real, honest, open, safe, and loving conversations about these questions. I don’t think we all need to agree – in fact, I know we won’t – but we need to be ready to listen and learn from one another without discounting each other’s faith or love of Scripture. In order to do that, we must address how we enter into the discussion.
Link
Other Links/Resources:
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
It starts with better science.
As part of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Institute of Gender and Health (IGH) fosters research that explores how sex and gender influence health. We use these findings to tackle the biggest health challenges. Our vision includes everybody—men, women, girls, boys and gender- diverse people.
We’ve made amazing progress. We’ve collaborated, questioned, and built a community of researchers and knowledge users addressing the most pressing health challenges—integrating sex and gender to spark discovery, innovation and health impact.
We know there’s more to be done and so does the IGH research community—which is why they have directed us to renew and advance our commitment to integration, innovation and impact for our 2018-2023 strategic plan. We will transform research methods to ensure health research is more rigorous and its findings generalizable to everyone. We are interdisciplinary. We are international. We are leading science towards the delivery of personalized health at the point of care.
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
- How LGBT+ scientists would like to be included and welcomed in STEM workplaces: Steps that peers and institutions can take to make laboratories, conferences and lecture halls safe and inclusive spaces. (Nature)
- Scientist refutes notion that gender identity is an ‘unscientific liberal ideology’ – ‘It’s not a one size fits all when it comes to your sex and gender,’ says behavioural neuroscientist (CBC Quirks and Quarks)
Biology versus psychology
Van Anders led a recent study looking at the relationship between the “masculine” hormone testosterone and behaviours such as competition and aggression.
She found that the act of engaging in these behaviours was enough to increase testosterone in both men and women — meaning the behaviour was affecting hormones, instead of the other way around.
“So we know that living life as women or men, or as non-binary people, and the gender norms that that involves, can actually influence the ways our hormones act.”
………
According to van Anders, evidence of trans and non-binary people have been found dating back thousands of years. Pottery found in ancient Egypt dating back to the year 2,000 BC shows depictions of three genders. (Italics mine).
“Trans is nothing new,” she said.
“Transgender people, living in genders that branch from what they were assigned at birth, have been around a long, long time. Various indigenous nations have diverse gender experiences, including what is now called two-spiritedness. Cultures in Eastern Europe, East Asia, all over the world have multiple genders or third genders.”
(CBC Quirks and Quarks)
