It's hard to change gender in private! I found a supportive church at First Baptist of Berkeley and then thought, "There must be one in Iowa City," and there was. I am Episcopalian, and have been accepted fully at Trinity Church in Iowa City. My style is not gender-challenging: I regard myself as just one of the ladies of the church.

~ Deirdre McClosky

While the church was looking the other way, gender issues became much more complex, and as a consequence, much of the debate within church walls is increasingly irrelevant to the realities with which individuals are struggling.

In His love no walls between us, / In His love a common ground. / Kneeling at the cross of Jesus, /All our pride comes tumbling down.

She said that Old South’s statement including individuals of “every sexual identity” was meant to include trangender folks, too. She cautioned me, though, that I might be the first one of “me” in the congregation!

Within every religious community, there are transgendered people. It may not be evident to the pastor. Transgender idenities may be visible or invisible within the congregation, but they are tehre just the same.

First, differently gendered people are in need of healing from the pain and negativity that has been forced upon us ... for so many centuries. And, just as importantly, the Christian church, ...needs to be healed of its sick, unfounded prejudice and misguided bigotry toward the transgendered.

After sixteen months of contentious discussion and debate, in October 1996 the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta voted to sustain my ordination, making me the first mainline Protestant minister to undergo a gender transition and retain ordination.

Understanding and tolerating our differences is important, not only because we share the same God, but because we share similar challenges as we all strive to embody who God has created each of us to be.

Discussion of religious issues in Orthodox Judaism related to transexuals -- specifically the teshuva by the Tzitz Eliezer.

Discussion of religious issues in Orthodox Judaism related to transexuals -- specifically the position of Rav Eliezer Yehuda Waldenberg in his Tzitz Eliezer.

Discussion of the noble Prophet (s.a.s.)'s condemnation of transgender Muslims.

Article from Tikkun magazine (2005) exploring transgender issues in Judaism.

Exploring how gender does and doesn't matter in Aliyah and other contexts in synagogue

2003 denominational statement.

2003 policy statement.

Like the religious people of biblical times, we resist -- overcoming boundaries: clean and unclean, welcomed and outcast, male and female. But then that’s exactly what a poor carpenter's son from Nazareth asked of us.

2003 article about Reuben Zellman, the first transgender rabbinical student.

Reflecting on the Church's responsibility to speak out against violence against gender variant people (includes a YouTube video outlining a month of anti-trans violence).

Asking hypothetical 'what if' questions is a meaningful way to clarify our beliefs and thinking.

A bumpy road to acceptance.

As a church family you have been wonderful to me as Bob, and it is my sincere desire and prayer that this will continue as my life continues to change, and as I enter my new gender role as Brenda.

So I deeply disagree with the charge that I am being deceitful and a source of shame for the people of God. On the contrary, I believe that the truth I live in is a truth the people of God are struggling to understand.

...But my daughter... said, "Tell them about how you're never really a whole person if you remain silent, because there is always that one little piece inside you that wants to be spoken out, and if you keep ignoring it, it gets madder and madder and hotter and hotter, and if you don't speak it out one day it will just up and punch you in the mouth from the inside."

~ Audre Lorde in Sister Outsider

Includes sample vigil and worship materials, as well as promotional materials.

From the Holy Qur'an and other sources

Quick introduction to scriptures relevant to transsexuals

Examining the creation of humanity in Jewish sacred texts from the Bible until today, Queerly Created is the first section of Jewish Mosaic's TransTexts section.

Eleven lessons (blog entries/pages) on transgender and the Bible.

A Christian perspective on Leviticus and Deuteronomy

Today, we’ve gone back to the more simplistic world-view of the Bible. We have forgotten the complexity and humanity of the approach of our classical thinkers towards intersex people.

Examining the creation of humanity in Jewish sacred texts from the Bible until today, Queerly Created is the first section of Jewish Mosaic's TransTexts section.

Eleven lessons (blog entries/pages) on transgender and the Bible.

How can we be a Christian and be transgendered/gay, or both? The answer is pretty clear in John 3:16.

Considering Torah with a Conservative Rabbi

A compilation of what a variety of biblical commentaries have said about this text

Probing questions about Deuteronomy 22:5 and acceptance in the Church.

Quick introduction to scriptures relevant to transsexuals

Examining the creation of humanity in Jewish sacred texts from the Bible until today, Queerly Created is the first section of Jewish Mosaic's TransTexts section.

Eleven lessons (blog entries/pages) on transgender and the Bible.

A Christian perspective on Leviticus and Deuteronomy