Transgenderism and religion

The Indian transgender Hijras or Aravanis – ritually marry the Hindu god Aravan and then mourn his ritual death (seen) in a 18-day festival in Koovagam, India.

The relationship between transgenderism and religion varies widely around the world. Religions range from condemning any gender-variant behaviour, to honoring transgender people as religious leaders. Views within a single religion can vary considerably.

Abrahamic religions

Abrahamic religions have creation stories in which God creates people, "male and female". This is sometimes interpreted as a divine mandate against gender variance.^{[citation needed]} The Torah contains specific prohibitions on cross-dressing and damaged genitals.

Judaism

The term saris, generally translated to English as "eunuch" or "chamberlain", appears 45 times in the Tanakh. It frequently refers to a trusted but gender variant person who was delegated authority by a powerful person. It is unclear whether most were in fact castrated. In Isaiah 56 God promises eunuchs who keep the sabbath and holds fast to his covenant that he will build an especially good monument in heaven for them, to make up for their childlessness.

Some Orthodox assert that sex/gender is an innate and eternal category and cite verses in the Book of Genesis about Adam and Eve and the creation of maleness and femaleness. There are, nevertheless, Orthodox authorities who recognize the medical necessity of sex reassignment as well as the efficacy of sex reassignment surgery (SRS) in changing halachic sex designation

Conservative Judaism has mixed views on transgender people. In 2003, the CJLS approved a rabbinic ruling that concluded that sex reassignment surgery (SRS) is permissible as a treatment of gender dysphoria, and that a transgender person's sex status under Jewish law is changed by SRS. There have not yet been any openly transgender rabbis or rabbinical students affiliated with Conservative Judaism.

Reform Judaism has recently expressed positive views on transgender people. The Commission on Social Action passed a resolution in 2003 urging inclusion and acceptance for transgender people. That same year, the first transgender (female-to-male) student was admitted to rabbinical school at Hebrew Union College. David Saperstein of the Religious Action Center has called for a trans-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

Several non-denominational Jewish groups provide resources for transgender people. Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life published an LGBTQ Resource Guide in 2007. Jewish Mosaic has published interpretations of Jewish texts that affirm transgender identities.

Christianity

Main article: Transgenderism and Christianity

The New Testament is more ambiguous about gender-variant identities than the Old Testament is. 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. 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." There has been discussion about the significance of the selection of the Ethiopian eunuch as being the first gentile conversion to Christianity: the inclusion of a eunuch, representing a sexual minority, similar to some included under today's category of transgender, in the context of the time.

A 2000 document from the Catholic Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith concludes that the sex-change 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.”

Some Christian denominations accept transgender people as members and clergy. The Unitarian Universalist Association was the first denomination to accept transgender people as full members with eligibility to become clergy, and the first to open an Office of Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Concerns. The United Church of Christ General Synod called for full inclusion of transgender persons in 2003. In 2008, the United Methodist Church Judicial Council ruled that 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. The Church of England has ordained a transsexual woman as a priest.

Islam

In Islam, the term mukhannathun is used to describe gender-variant people, usually male-to-female transsexuals. Neither this term nor the equivalent for "eunuch" occurs in the Qur'an, but the term does appear in the Hadith, the sayings of Muhammad, which have a secondary status to the central text. Moreover, within Islam, there is a tradition on the elaboration and refinement of extended religious doctrines through scholarship. This doctrine contains a surprisingly trans-positive passage by the scholar and hadith collector An-Nawawi:

A mukhannath is the one ("male") who carries in his movements, in his appearance and in his language the characteristics of a woman. There are two types; the first is the one in whom these characteristics are innate, he did not put them on by himself, and therein is no guilt, no blame and no shame, as long as he does not perform any (illicit) act or exploit it for money (prostitution etc.). The second type acts like a woman out of immoral purposes and he is the sinner and blameworthy.

^{[citation needed]}

Iran carries out more sex change operations than any other nation in the world except for Thailand. It is sanctioned as a supposed "cure" for homosexuality, which is punishable by death under Iranian law. The government even provides up to half the cost for those needing financial assistance and a sex change is recognised on the birth certificate.

The status of mukhannathun in Islam has been partially based on their inability to have penetrative sex with women, whether by inclination or due to anatomic interventions. They were allowed into harems but ejected if they displayed sexual interest in women. In some historical periods (when sanctions against gender variance were on the rise) castration was required, but some mukhannathun reacted positively rather than negatively.

Dharmic religions

Hinduism

Main article: LGBT topics and Hinduism

The traditional religion of the Indian subcontinent, Hinduism, has long standing, historically robust identity for gender variance that functions as a kind of caste. The general term is Hijira but different regions with completely different languages have other terms for roughly homologous cases with details that vary, for example another caste that works the same way is Arvani. These castes typically have very very low status and it is considered a tragedy for a child to end up this way. In some parts of India these castes have special legal status whereby their members are the only people in the population who may legally engage in prosititution – and they are, in some senses, expected to earn their living this way.^{[citation needed]}

Hindu philosophy has the concept of a third sex or third gender (tritiya-prakriti – literally, "third nature"). This category includes a wide range of people with mixed male and female natures such as transgender persons, homosexuals, transsexuals, bisexuals, the intersexed, and so on. Such persons were not considered fully male or female in traditional Hinduism, being a combination of both. They are mentioned as third sex by nature (birth) and were not expected to behave like ordinary men and women. They often kept their own societies or town quarters, performed specific occupations (such as masseurs, hairdressers, flower-sellers, domestic servants, etc.) and were generally attributed a semi-divine status. Their participation in religious ceremonies, especially as crossdressing dancers and devotees of certain temple gods/goddesses, is considered inauspicious in traditional Hinduism. Some Hindus believe that third-sex people have special powers allowing them to bless or curse others. However, these beliefs are not upheld in all divisions of Hinduism. In Hinduism, the universal creation is honored as unlimitedly diverse and the recognition of a third sex is simply one more aspect of this understanding.

Buddhism

In general, Buddhist scripture does not distinguish same-sex sexual activity from heterosexual activity, both being seen as non-conducive to spiritual growth.

In Thai Buddhism, being katoey (an umbrella term that roughly maps to a range of identities from MtF transsexuality to male homosexuality) is seen as being part of one's karma if it should be the case for a person. The response is one of "pity" rather than "blame". Katoey are generally seen as not likely to form lasting relationships with men, and the lay explanation of their karma is that they are working out debts from adulterous behavior in past lives. In the past they disrupted marriages, and now they are doomed to never marry.

In Thailand, katoey were not allowed to legally become female or marry, until 2007 (following the 2006 Thai coup d'état) when the laws were changed and post-op katoey were allowed to change their legal gender. In practice, prior to this, katoey could and somewhat frequently did marry Europeans and leave Thailand.

In Theravada Buddhism monks take vows of celibacy, and self control over sexual impulses is idealized as part of the path to Nirvanna. In the 1980s, in response to growing awareness of the AIDS crisis, some Buddhist writers drew on Buddhist teachings to argue that homosexual behavior was unnatural and unethical and demonstrated a lack of self control. However, other Buddhist scholars have argued that karmic debt only accumulates around heterosexual immorality when patriarchal notions of male ownership of female sexuality are disrupted (for example, pre-marital sex is "theft of virginity" by a man from the woman's father). According to this view, the difficulties and pain of gender variant lives are part of how this debt is paid off in subsequent lives and as such it incurs no additional karmic debt.

Shinto

Shinto kami associated with same-sex love or gender variance include: Shirabyōshi, female or transgendered kami, represented as half-human, half-snake. They are linked to Shinto priests of the same name, who are usually female (or occasionally transgender) and perform ritual dances in traditional men's clothing; Oyamakui, a transgendered mountain spirit that protects industry and childbearing; and Inari, the kami of agriculture and rice, who is depicted as various genders, the most common representations being a young female food goddess, an old man carrying rice, and an androgynous bodhisattva. Inari is further associated with foxes and Kitsune, shapeshifting fox trickster spirits. Kitsune sometimes disguise themselves as women, independent of their true gender, in order to trick human men into sexual relations with them. Common belief in medieval Japan was that any woman encountered alone, especially at dusk or night, could be a fox.

Confucianism

One issue that Confucianism is quite clear on is the importance of filial piety with an accompanying tradition of ancestor worship. People are supposed to respect and obey their parents, get married, and have children who extend their family lines. Gender variant people who are physically capable of living up to this standard would be generally encouraged to enter a marital relationship, have children, and be discreet about any additional relationships (for example homosexual partners) on the side, if absolutely necessary. Transsexuality is obviously not consistent with this scheme.

Chinese religions

Eunuchs, male-bodied people castrated for royal services, existed in China from 1700 BC until 1924 AD. This social role had a long history, with a continuous community, and a highly public role. Before being castrated a Chinese eunuch would be asked if he "would ever regret being castrated" and if the answer was "no" then surgery would take place. It's an open question as to who would answer this way and why. The historical status of Chinese eunuchs was a curious mixture of extreme weakness and great power. The allure of power and influence were sometimes offered as excuses for the decision to become a eunuch. It has been speculated that Chinese monarchs trusted their eunuchs because the inability to have children left them with no motivation to seek power or riches. It is not clear to what extent eunuchs were transgender or otherwise gender-variant, but the history of eunuchs in Chinese culture is important to its views on transgender people.

African religious beliefs

The Akan people of Ghana have a pantheon of gods that includes personifications of celestial bodies. These personification manifest as androgynous of transgender deities, and include Abrao (Jupiter), Aku (Mercury), and Awo (Moon).

The mythology of the Shona people of Zimbabwe is ruled over by an androgynous creator god called Mwari, who occasionally splits into separate male and female aspects.

Australian Aboriginal

The indigenous population of Australia have a shamanistic religion, which includes a pantheon of gods. The rainbow serpent god Ungud has been described as androgynous or transgendered. Shaman identify their erect penises with Ungud, and his androgyny inspires some to undergo ceremonial subincision of the penis. Angamunggi is another transgendered rainbow-serpent god, worshipped as a "giver of life".

Other Australian mythological beings include Labarindja, blue-skinned wild women or "demon women" with hair the colour of smoke. Stories about them show them to be completely uninterested in romance or sex with men, and any man forcing his attention upon them could die, due the "evil magic in their vaginas". They are sometimes depicted as gynandrous or intersex, having both a penis and a vagina. Ths is represented in ritual by having their part played by men in women's clothes.

Pacific Islands

Third gender, or gender variant, spiritual intermediaries are found in many pacific island cultures, including the bajasa of the Toradja Bare'e people of Celebes, the bantut of the Taosug people of the south Philippines, and the bayoguin of the pre-Christian Philippines. These shamans are typically biologically male but display feminine behaviours and appearance, and are often homoerotically inclined. The pre-Christian Philippines had a polytheistic religion, which included the transgender or hermaphroditic gods Bathala and Malyari, whose names means "Man and Woman in One" and "Powerful One" respectively; these gods are worshipped by the Bayagoin.

The Big Nambas of Vanuatu have the concept of divinely approved-of homoerotic relationships between men, with the older partner called the "dubut". This name is derived from the word for shark, referring to the patronage of the shark-human hydrid creator god Qat.

Among their pantheon of deities, the Ngaju Dayak of Borneo worship Mahatala-Jata, an androgynous or transgender god. The male part of this god is Mahatala, who rules the Upperworld, and is depicted as a hornbill living above the clouds on a mountain-top; the female part is Jata, who rules the Underworld from under the sea in the form of a water-snake. These two manifestations are linked via a jewel-encrusted bridge that is seen in the physical world as a rainbow. Mahatala-Jata is served by "balian", female hierodules, and "basir" transgender shamans metaphorically described as "water snakes which are at the same time hornbills". Similar transgendered shamans, the "manang bali", are found in the Iban Dayak people. Manang bali dress and act like women and have homoerotic relationships. This makes them both the target of ridicule and respected as a spiritual intemediary. Boys fated to become manang bali may first dream of becoming a woman and also of being summoned by the god/dess Menjaya Raja Manang or the goddess Ini. Menjaya Raja Manang began existence as a malegod, until his brother's wife became sick. This prompted Menjara into becoming the worlds first healer, allowing him to cure his sister-in-law, but this treatment also resulted in Menjara changing into a woman or androgynous being.

Neopagan religion

See also: LGBT topics and Wicca

Transgender people are almost always welcomed in individual communities, covens, study groups, and circles.^{[citation needed]} Many transgender Neopagans were initially attracted to Neopagan religions because of this inclusion.

However, some Neopagan groups do not welcome transgender people. In some cases, this is because of the emphasis on the union of male and female, and the exclusion of transgender individuals from such practices. Also, some separatist groups exclude transgender people, often on the basis that non-transgender individual share certain spiritual qualities derived genetic or biological sex. Dianic Wicca is an example of such a separatist group.

Classical myth

Main article: LGBT themes in mythology

The patron god of hermaphrodites and transvestites is Dionysus, a god gestated in the thigh of his father Zeus, after his mother died from being overwhelmed by Zeus's true form. Aphroditus was an androgynous Aphrodite from Cyprus, in later mythology became known as Hermaphroditus the intersexed child of Hermes and Aphrodite.

In addition, Norse Gods were capable of changing gender at will, for example Loki, the trickster god, frequently disguised himself as a woman and gave birth to a foal while in the form of a white mare, after a sexual encounter with the stallion Svaðilfari. Comparison of a man to a child-bearing woman was a common insult in Scandinavia, and the implication that Loki may be bisexual was considered an insult.

Human fertility was a major aspect of Egyptian mythology, and was often entwined with the crop fertility provided by annual flooding of the river Nile. This connection was shown in iconography of Nile-gods, such as Hapy, god of the Nile River, and Wadj-wer, god of the Nile Delta, who although male were depicted with female attributes such as pendulous breasts, symbolizing the fertility the river provides.

See also

• Religion and homosexuality

References

• Smyers, Karen Ann. (1999). The Fox and the Jewel: Shared and Private Meanings in Contemporary Japanese Inari Worship. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. 10-ISBN 0824820584/13-ISBN 9780824820589; 10-ISBN 0824821025/13-ISBN 9780824821029; OCLC 39523475

External links

• The workgroup transgender, religion, philosophy of life and ethics