Religion and Gender Identity: Navigating Faith as a Trans Adult by Dr. Z

Coming from a religious background adds profound complexity to navigating gender identity. This isn't just social rejection—it's an existential threat.

General transphobia says "being trans is weird or wrong." Religious transphobia says, "This is a sin against God, your soul is at risk, you're choosing eternal damnation." That difference creates unique burdens secular trans people don't face.

There are six common burdens a person might go through, such as fear of spiritual consequences and internalized religious shame. Each burden is discussed in detail in this video.

As a result of common burdens, a person may experience internal conflicts, and I discuss five most common conflicts I see adults struggle with: Faith vs authenticity ("I can be faithful or myself, but not both"), family vs self, suffering as virtue vs self-compassion, divine plan vs human agency, sacred texts vs personal experience.