The relationship between transgender people and religion varies widely around the world. Religions range from condemning any gender variance to honoring transgender people as religious leaders. Views within a single religion can vary considerably, as can views between different faiths.
This article includes a wide overview of documented beliefs and opinions held within various sects of mainstream religions, both on a large scale (i.e. statements made by the Pope on behalf of the entire Catholic Church) and on a small scale (i.e. a church accepting a transgender pastor).
Abrahamic religions Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, the Baháʼí Faith, and Islam) have traditionally affirmed and endorsed a patriarchal and heteronormative approach towards human sexuality, but the usage of the term "Abrahamic religions" to group together these fundamentally different spiritual communities has been debated in efficacy, particularly by religious studies academics, as it leads to sweeping generalizations about peoples' beliefs.Boyd, Samuel L. (October 2019). "Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: The problem of 'Abrahamic religions' and the possibilities of comparison". Religion Compass. 13 (10) e12339. doi:10.1111/rec3.12339. ISSN 1749-8171. S2CID 203090839.Dodds, Adam (July 2009). "The Abrahamic Faiths? Continuity and Discontinuity in Christian and Islamic Doctrine". Evangelical Quarterly. 81 (3): 230–253. doi:10.1163/27725472-08103003. Each individual religious person, even under the umbrella of a specific sect, can have vastly different understandings and beliefs about non-normative gender expression and identity.
Baháʼí Faith In the Baháʼí Faith, transgender people can gain recognition in their gender if they have medically transitioned under the direction of medical professionals and if they have Gender-affirming surgery (i.e. Sexual Reassignment Surgery or SRS). After SRS, they are considered transitioned and may have a Baháʼí marriage. Little has been published on the topic by top leaders of the faith as of 2021.
Christianity Some Christian denominations have been known to accept transgender people as members and clergy: In 2003, the United Church of Christ General Synod called for full inclusion of transgender persons. In 2005, Sarah Jones became the first openly transgender person to be ordained by the Church of England as a priest: the first trans person to minister in the Church of England was Carol Stone, who had been ordained in 1978 and transitioned in 2000. In 2008, the United Methodist Church Judicial Council ruled that openly transgender pastor Drew Phoenix could keep his position. 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. In 2017, the United Methodist Church commissioned its first non-binary clergy member, a transgender non-binary deacon named M Barclay. Also, Joy Everingham was the Methodist Church in Great Britain's first openly transgender minister. In 2009, the United Church of Canada affirmed the participation and ministry of transgender people, and encouraged all congregations to welcome transgender people into membership, ministry, and full participation. In 2010, The Rev. Cindy Bourgeoisis the first openly transgender person ordained in the United Church of Canada. In 2012, the Episcopal Church in the United States approved a change to their nondiscrimination canons to include gender identity and expression. In 2013, Shannon Kearns became the first openly transgender person ordained by the North American Old Catholic Church. He was ordained in Minneapolis. In 2014, Megan Rohrer became the first openly transgender leader of a Lutheran congregation (specifically, Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church of San Francisco). In 2017, the General Synod of the Church of England passed a motion stating, "That this Synod, recognising the need for transgender people to be welcomed and affirmed in their parish church, call on the House of Bishops to consider whether some nationally commended liturgical materials might be prepared to mark a person's gender transition."
Catholic Church The Catechism of the Catholic Church, promulgated in 1992, does not mention transgender issues directly. In 2000, the Catholic Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith sent a confidential document to church leaders reportedly stating that gender-affirming surgeries do not alter a person's gender in the eyes of the Church. The document reportedly concludes that such an operation could be morally acceptable in certain cases of medical necessity, but that persons who have undergone GAS could not validly marry. In a Christmas 2008 address, Pope Benedict XVI denounced the concept of gender, arguing that it comprised living against "truth" and "the creating Spirit" and could lead to the "self-destruction" of the human race. "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... Man wants to create himself, and to decide always and exclusively on his own about what concerns him."
In 2015, in response to a transgender man's query, the Vatican declared that transgender Catholics were prohibited from becoming godparents, stating that transgender status "reveals in a public way an attitude opposite to the moral imperative of solving the problem of sexual identity according to the truth of one's own sexuality" and that, "it is evident that this person does not possess the requirement of leading a life according to the faith and in the position of godfather and is therefore unable to be admitted to the position of godfather or godmother." In 2016, Pope Francis stated that "biological sex and the socio-cultural role of sex (gender) can be distinguished but not separated".
In 2023, a document from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith within the Roman Curia, responding to questions from José Negri, Bishop of Santo Amaro, stated that transgender people could be baptised, could be godparents at a baptism, and could be witnesses at weddings, so long as such situations would not cause scandal.
Individual Catholics have held a range of positions regarding transgender issues. Apologist Tim Staples has stated that experiencing gender dysphoria is not sinful but surgeries such as sex reassignment surgery are morally impermissible. Theologian James Whitehead has said, "The kind of transition that trans people are talking about is very similar to the journey of faith through darkness and desert that people have been making for thousands of years."
Baptist 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." 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." 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". Furthermore, the resolution opposes hormone therapy, transition-related care, and anything else that would "alter one's bodily identity", as well as opposing government efforts to "validate transgender identity as morally praiseworthy". Instead, the resolution asks transgender people to "trust in Christ and to experience renewal in the Gospel".
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
In Mormonism's largest denominations, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), socially or medically transitioned transgender people are not allowed to join the church via baptism, as of 2024. Transgender members will receive an annotation on their membership record which groups them with violent sexual predators and child abusers, and bars them from working with children or teaching church classes. Rituals (called ordinances) such as receiving the priesthood and temple endowments, are only done according to birth sex. Undergoing gender-affirming surgery may imperil the membership of an LDS Church member.
Unitarian Universalism
Unitarian Universalism, a liberal religion with roots in liberal Christianity, became the first denomination to accept openly transgender people as full members with eligibility to become clergy (in 1979), and the first to open an Office of Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Concerns (in 1973). In 1988 the first openly transgender person was ordained by the Unitarian Universalist Association. 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, Utah. Also in 2017, the Unitarian Universalist Association's General Assembly voted to create inclusive wordings for non-binary, genderqueer, gender fluid, agender, intersex, two-spirit and polygender people, replacing the words "men and women" with the word "people." Of the six sources of the living tradition, the second source of faith, as documented in the bylaws of the denomination, now includes "Words and deeds of prophetic people which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love".
Islam
In Islamic literature, the Classical Arabic term mukhannathun is used to describe "effeminate men". The term has sometimes been equated to transgender women, gay men, members of a third gender, or intersex individuals, although it does not neatly fit into any of those categories.
The treatment of mukhannathun varied throughout early Islamic history, and the meaning of the term took on new dimensions over time. In some eras, men deemed mukhannathun were persecuted and castrated, while in others they were celebrated as musicians and entertainers. According to Tabari, one of the earliest authors on the meaning of the Quran, narrates that Muhammad did not forbid the mukhannatun to enter women's quarters until they started to describe the women in great detail to men.M. Alipour (2017) Islamic shari'a law, neotraditionalist Muslim scholars and transgender sex-reassignment surgery: A case study of Ayatollah Khomeini's and Sheikh al-Tantawi's fatwas, International Journal of Transgenderism, 18:1, 91-103, DOI: 10.1080/15532739.2016.1250239 In the late medieval era, several Islamic scholars held that mukhannathun who had innate feminine mannerisms were not blameworthy as long as they did not violate Islamic religious laws concerning sexual morality. In later years, the term came to be associated with the receptive partner in gay sexual practices, as homosexuality was seen as an extension of effeminacy.