Over the past few months, the Trump Administration has unleashed an all-out assault on transgender people. His team has scrubbed the existence of trans people from government websites, threatened access to gender-affirming care, banned transgender people from joining the military, and more.
President Donald Trump and his right-wing supporters have long grounded their anti-trans actions in “religious freedom” for Christians. Trump and his allies purport that God created two genders—male and female—and any interpretations to the contrary violate the fundamental tenets of Christianity. However, the conservative “Christian” crusade against trans rights is deeply unchristian
We have studied and taught the Bible for decades, and there is nothing that would justify such horrendous dehumanization of creatures made in God’s image. The Bible is an expansive text that can help guide us. We can’t stand by as right-wing forces make a mockery of our most sacred texts through bad-faith interpretations—and neither should other Christian faith leaders.
Let’s start with the obvious. The Bible never says “Trans people are bad,” “Trans people don’t exist,” “Love thy neighbor except trans people,” or anything close to these absurd claims. Though conservative Christians may cite Genesis 1:27, which states that God made “male and female,” the Bible fluidly compares God to both men and women.
Consider Isaiah 42, for example, in which God proclaims his promise of salvation and foretells the coming of the Messiah. He says that the Lord will march out and raise a battle cry similar to a woman in labor. The text reads, “For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back. But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant.”
Then, in Isaiah 66, God speaks through Isaiah and says, “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.”
Meanwhile, in Deuteronomy 32, God warns people of the consequences of turning away from him. He is compared to an eagle stirring up its nest and hovering over its young—an action that mother eagles take to encourage their offspring to leave the nest. He also condemns “you who forgot the God who gave you birth.”
We believe that God created trans and intersex people and that gender fluidity is as natural to some of God’s creations as is identification with only a single gender expression. And the struggle for the freedom to be is as old as humanity itself. Indeed, this is the Biblical Story. The Bible tells the story of many faith traditions, cultures, and civilizations striving to be free. Conveniently, right-wing forces ignore the reality of gender fluidity expressed in scripture and in many other manifestations throughout human history at the expense of ignoring some of the most important biblical themes of freedom and acceptance.
But even beyond specific verses of scripture, our sacred text consistently tells us to love our neighbors, support the most vulnerable, and embrace our fellow human beings. There’s no asterisk that says “except trans people.” Denying the existence of trans people, bullying them, or undermining their rights contradicts all of these core moral values.
As trans writer Julian K. Jarboe explains, “God blessed me by making me transsexual for the same reason God made wheat but not bread and fruit but not wine, so that humanity might share in the act of creation.”
Beyond weaponizing the Bible to attack the trans community, there’s another hurtful trend related to the anti-trans crusade: Right-wing forces are attempting to imbue their twisted version of Christianity into all layers of public life without any regard for different religious perspectives. For example, President Trump issued directives for the Department of Education to end support for trans students, which could have negative consequences on their physical and mental health.
But there’s no clear agreement between and within different religious traditions about how to approach gender identity. By imposing one siloed version of gender on the entire population, the government is undermining the reality of our religiously diverse country and shredding our most basic religious freedoms. It bears pointing out, though, that virtually every religious tradition respects the sanctity of human beings in their rich diversity. This is a religious teaching we can and should apply throughout our society.
So, as religious leaders, we stand in solidarity with all members of the transgender community. We also mourn all the trans lives lost, including the recent torture and killing of Sam Nordquist, a trans man from Minnesota.
We must stop making the Bible a tool of hate. Instead, we much embrace the greater message of love and faith it proclaims and work for justice and equality for all of God’s creations.
