Growing up I considered myself Christian until I had to deal with reconciling my faith (was involved with a very traditional evangelical leaning church) and my identity, I’ve recently decided I want to explore my faith again but am looking for explicitly trans affirming and LGBTQ inclusive churches and other faith groups (I’d be interested in visiting mosques, synagogues, Buddhist temples, etc.)

Also specifically looking for a flavour of trans affirming that doesn’t require having started/taken part in medical transition steps or even having a desire for medical transition to be considered valid.

Obviously with this being a Christian subreddit I’m leaning on the church recommendations over other faith groups, but if anyone here has friends who can recommend other religious places of worship that’s great too

Thanks for the help

I'm a 14 year old member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and I have a lot of gender dysphoria. I was born male, but over the last year or so I've been feeling as though my gender at birth does not align with who I am or want to be.

The church has rules that state that, in short, I shouldn't go transgender. I have tried accepting that fact and praying about it but it has never helped me. I still feel deeply that my biological gender does not align with who I am.

I am not willing to leave my church over this. No matter what I choose, I know that I believe in Jesus Christ, but other than that, I'm not sure.

I have not brought this up to my parents, and I'm struggling feeling comfortable to do so. I know that my parents would be supportive of me, but I'm really shy and I can't bring myself to tell them.

I'm looking for help/advice from anyone who would like to give me some.

Allow me to explain:

Prior to lïving as a woman, I was an extremely unhappy and angry man who constantly forced themself to be masculine. It was both transparent and toxic, and it was unpleasant for those around me who could see my egg begging to crack before I could.

I was also a militant atheist for most of that time, tho it was more like an "anti-christian," because I had played with a number of different religious beliefs and systems, both theistic and nontheistic, as I tried to find meaning and purpose in a world I once thought was inherently devoid of both. At this time, I was even involved with the Church of Satan, the LaVeyan one. Had a red card and everything.

For transparency, I have BPD, a.k.a. Borderline Personality Disorder, and my father, who is a horrible human being, a heathen, the one who first introduced me to The Satanic Bible at the age of 9, who was one of the primary sources of my trauma, and is overall an absolutely ignorant, hateful, bigoted POS... was my FP, a.k.a. "Favorite Person." If you know what that term means in the context of BPD, then you understand why this was so problematic.

I did everything I could to emulate and be like him, to seek his recognition, approval, and admiration, and to completely look past and disregard any of his shortcomings or personal defects, because my emotional regulation and sense of self was literally tied to him. This was my life for 27 years.

And throughout that time, I struggled to consolidate my own identity: my likes, dislikes, desires, boundaries, tastes, style, aesthetic, body mods, attitude, behavior, sexuality, gender identity, beliefs, etc. (Hell, my romantic tastes in men today are even still directly influenced by him, as I am especially into men that share a similar appearance to him: shaved head, goatee, thick rimmed square glasses, tattoos, piercings, dresses basically look like they work at Hot Topic or stand right in front of the stage at underground metal shows, despite the man currently being about to turn 60 years old), because if these traits were in conflict with what he was or would approve of, I felt a severe phobia of abandonment and rejection if I embraced something about myself that differed to him, so I was extremely unstable for my entire life because who I was literally depended on him.

When he disowned me five years ago for being transgender, as this was something I could no longer deny or repress, I experienced a severe identity crisis beyond description, because my FP just forcibly removed me from their life, and them from mine. The actual source of who Baby is, her entire sense of herself, and everything that came with it, was suddenly, and completely, disconnected. My emotional stability for 27 years had been entirely reliant on this man, and all of a sudden he was gone and was never coming back. ...so I had a mental breakdown of apocalyptic proportions, and the only reason I wasn't psychiatrically hospitalized at the time is because I couldn't afford it.

At this time, in a very short period of time, so many things happened or occurred in the most horribly perfect synchronicity: I was severely manic, I had a near-death experience from an illness, my mother had a heart attack, I lost all my IRL friends over a misunderstanding that was worsened by my at-present mental instability, I was extremely stressed out about a gender discrimination lawsuit I had filed against my employer at the time and felt like I couldn't post on social media (lest they try to find dirt on me from my content so I was also incredibly isolated), and my therapist had dropped me because A.) one of the people in that friend group who I fell out with was also a patient of hers, which presented a conflict of interest, and B.) my mental state had become too much for her to be able to manage or assist with. Her words, not mine.

At the end of it, I ended up having my own heart attack-like event in the middle of the boardroom at work, and I had to be loaded into an ambulance. It thankfully turned out to be just a massive anxiety attack, but in the end it actually caused me to experience a DID-esque split, where I had 5 different persons/alters in my head. This lasted for a few months and thankfully as things improved and I started to stabilize, they all went dormant and now it's only me in here for now.

And in the ashes of this trial by fire, I rose like a phoenix. I began to learn and figure out who I actually am without his influence, be it direct or indirect. I started to realize little things. Like my favorite color being pink instead of black (still love black tho). I discovered I liked some music that was different to his tastes (still primarily a metalhead tho). I liked wearing clothes in different styles and colors that weren't just black and weren't just coordinated around band tees. I discovered my name because with all the names I tried before to find one for myself in my transition, I kept going with one starting with J (Jessica, Joëlle), just like my [deadname], because on my father's side it's a family tradition to name the first born with a first name starting with J, especially if they were male, and it goes back centuries. I was realizing that I am, and have always been, my own person, not just a carbon copy of Jimmy, and I didn't have to be his acolyte anymore.

Years later, as my health, physical and mental, continued to deteriorate, especially from my ME, I had an epiphany in my grief and suffering: I am not my own higher power. I am not my own god. I am a humbled creature. And I cannot do this alone... And that was the realization that His Arms had been open to me the whole time. God never left. I did. I had simply refused to see Him. To reach for Him. And so I did. I have since had a personal experience I can only explain and describe as "miraculous" involving an apparition of the Virgin Mary and the Real Presence of the Holy Spirit, and this only further affirmed my faith. I start OCIA next month and I should be confirmed Catholic at Easter Vigil next year.

In summary, I had to experience a literal ego death through the forcible disconnection from my Favorite Person, and a harrowing disownment by my own father, the hero of my life, who for so long could do no wrong in my eyes, in order for my mind to even be opened enough to allow myself to accept God. Because until age 27, Baby's mind, even as a trans woman, might as well have been an extension of Jimmy's, and any attempt to differ from that unspoken rule led to EXTREME levels of instability and distress.

I literally publicly flip-flopped back and forth on my sexuality for my entire childhood and adolescence (I know now that I'm omniromantic asexual), because I would try to give myself the label I need for my OCD to be satisfied in terms of my awareness of self, but if it potentially differed from what he would approve of, then it would create massive dissonance and I would go back and forth, as Baby unknowingly was fighting for control of her own brain and identity.

I REFUSE to believe that God doesn't want me to be trans, and to not embrace my intersex status (I have De la Chappelle Syndrome, meaning I was AMAB but I have an XX chromosome. It is caused by a genetic error during cell division in a parent. The SRY gene from the father's Y chromosome moves onto an X chromosome. When this modified X chromosome joins a normal X chromosome, the child develops male traits despite having an XX karyotype. That's not even getting into the effect it has on development, especially puberty.)

I refuse to believe this isn't the path He wanted for me— Because He knows that I would have never even acknowledged Him if I continued to be Jimmy's little BPD shadow. I would have been him. Not me.

This is what I mean when I say that I never would have been able to find Christ if I hadn't come out as trans. And I will never be convinced otherwise. 🩵🩷🤍🩷🩵

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So, I'm 22 and I've been male my whole life, until the past few months when I've realized I think I might be trans. I'm also a devout believer of God, I always have been and I always will be.

I've done a lot of soul searching in these past few months and a lot, a lot a lot, of praying about it and the more I look into the process of transitioning and the results the more I get excited about it. Honestly, I believe personally that God is okay with LGBTQ+ stuff because something is telling me if God wasn't okay with any of it I wouldn't be so excited looking into transitioning and stuff. I mean it, these past few months of soul searching, praying, and research has been the most fulfilling few months I've had in a very long time.

However, despite how relieving this all feels, I'm still kinda stressing out about it. It's not my relationship with God that's got me stressed (I actually feel like this has brought me closer to God in a way), it's more about people. I live in the southern USA and a pretty religious part of it as well, and my parents are also pretty religious (they're not the kind of Christian to go to church every Sunday but still are pretty religious). I'm stressed that if I tell my parents they might not be accepting of it, or even kick me out (as of now I still live with them). They've never seemed like the kind of people to be like that, but I've heard what they both say about trans people sometimes in the past and it's always made me feel sad (to be completely honest they've not said anything out-right horrible, just little jabs when talking about it. A few days ago it came up casually in a conversation with me and my mom and she asked me why I knew so much about this stuff and when I told her I found it interesting, she gave me a side eye with a look on her face I couldn't read)

I guess I'm just sorta looking for advice on how to maneuver through all of this. I for sure will continue to pray about all of it, but I also want some advice from people who've got more experience about all of this than I do. Thank you so much for reading and God bless :)

Can't get along with the protestants cus I have an altar and I believe Mary is also worth praying to. Can't fit in with the Catholics cus I'm very low church and believe all Christians are true Christians on some deep universalist level. Can't fit in with the Christopagans, gnostics, and the like cus I'm still just a trinitarian Christian. Can't fit in with "plain" Christians cus I still believe weed and shrooms are sacred. Can't fit in with devout high church Christians because I am a kink advocate.

Like the things I'd give to know more Christocantheists lol.

Sometimes I want to cling to my faith and think that everything is a test, that everything is a punishment, that maybe this is how it has to be so I can learn something. Let me introduce myself: my name is Sophie. I’m 25 years old and I’m almost a trans woman. I identify as one and I’m proud of it. What I’m not proud of is knowing that I’ll never be able to transition, that everything seems lost. Sometimes I think it’s a cruel trick played by God. because everything is always against me. My current problem is my marriage. I married a cis woman whom I love, but she wants children, so that means goodbye to the option of hormones. We don’t have much money, so I’m living off her promises that maybe someday I’ll be able to have surgery. But honestly, I don’t see a clear path forward. No matter how much I explain it to her, she doesn’t understand that I hate looking at myself in the mirror. She can’t come to terms with the idea that I hate myself for aging in a body that I don’t like. She’s autistic, so she takes everything literally. I’ve thought about starting hormones in secret, but I can’t. I don’t know what to do. I feel alone and lost. I’m ashamed of who I am, and every night I just beg Jesus to end my pain—I can’t stand being alive anymore.

Every year for the past 6 years, I've taken queer youth from around my area, paired them with drag performers, and then taken them on an all expenses paid gender affirming shopping spree for back to school clothes. Usually I get grants from teachers unions or LGBT nonprofits, but this year grants are few and far between.

So my priest is donating a bit of money to make sure queer kids can get the clothes to make them feel seen.

That's embodied Christianity.

I spent so long reading verses trying to find anything that might prove that Christianity and LGBTQ can coesxist. I tried reading so many variations and interpretations of the verses that people use to condem homoxesuality and I was never convinces about what people said. I know Jesus says we are all loved but it doesn't change the fact that the bible still condems us.

I asked a family member who was a Paastor in his youth and he said that loving someone and welcoming to the bible is not to accept their sin. That to go to church aware of your sin and atill continue to doing it is wrong.

I am so conflicted because my perception of a loving god wouldn't condemn people for who they love but this is the God reinforced through the bible, a being who casts people down for not following his vague rules as his followers cherry pick rules that apply to them and others that don't.

I don't get it, I feel on the verge of giving up

Or at least think on detransitioning? I’d like to know what makes you think that way and feel the desire to go back to the original gender.

I already know I want to be an adoptive mother. and I think about it, orphans 99.5% cisgender orphans. maybe transgender orphans are higher than .5%. but I think about transgender teenagers who are rejected by their biological families. and I’d want to adopt transgender teenagers who were rejected by their families. i remember what it was like to be illegal at home and school. I was suicidal for 5,800 consecutive days while illegal. is it unethical for me to adopt a transgender teenager from a family who’s parents have rejected their transgender identity and are experiencing betrayal, and rejection? and the transgender teen is asking for help. so that they have a safe place, belonging and loyalty . I feel like I have survived a long war on my life. and I needed acceptance when I was a child/teenager. what kind of trouble could I get into if I did adopt transgender teenagers from their families? I don’t want to be a child thief or anything like that, is it ethical or unethical? like I’m going to marry a transgender man some day. and I like to adopt transgender teenagers who’s families don’t want them. I would tell the families, that I want to adopt their transgender teenagers if they don’t want them. lol LOL

Hi, I've been exploring my faith as a Christian and really delving into the denominations. I was raised Anglican but I'm really drawn to alot of aspects of catholicism like communion, confession, praying the rosary and the Saints etc. The structure and rules also make me drawn to it since I very much enjoy strict structure etc.

I'm well aware of the Catholic stance on the lgbtq+, abortion etc. However I don't believe that being lgbtq+ is a sin and I am pro choice completely.

Are there trans people who attend a Catholic church, what is it like? I don't want to have to feel unwelcome or unsafe when attending a church as you are supposed to feel safe. I'm completely stealth so it's not like it'd be obvious but it matters to me that it's not something that is hated or shunned.

The church I planned on attending in my parish is fully accepting but isn't Catholic.

Im a 17 year old closeted mtf ( ive known i was a girl since i was 14) and im so depressed i cant transition at the moment since im a minner but also when im able to take hrt im scared cuz i looked up on google taking hrt can increase the risk of heart attack or stroke and im not sure if i wanna risk it . it feels like a blackhole has swallowed me

I also have this fear its wrong and sinfull to transition

Theres a part of me that says god made me male so i should just stick with it

And another that says when im old enough to transition but risk going to hell

I just feel lost and alone and wondering if im a freak abomination in the eyes of the lord

I think I know the answer but I would like to share this and get other perspectives.

Should I go to a men’s retreat as a stealth trans man for a church that is probably anti trans and very much anti gay?

Context:

I went to a Pentecostal church in Australia for the first time. I grew up American Evangelical, and we took the bible very literally. I am more interested in a literal interpretation of the bible church, even if I don’t fully agree with everything the bible literally says. Like I’d much rather attend a service that believes homosexuality is a sin than a church that says anything goes and treats the entire Bible as poetry.

That being said, I’d never been to an Australian church. And I had no idea they were Pentecostal because it didn’t show on the map. But I found out they were Pentecostal in the middle of the sermon, and I read in their mission statement that they believed in marriage exclusively between one man and one woman.

Now here’s the problem, they all gendered me male. I thought they were being nice because I’m really early in transition. But I guess I passed to enough people. Even a guy who believes he can speak in tongues and prophesy treated me like a dude bro mate guy.

Before the sermon commenced, one of the elders announced a men’s retreat and encouraged all the men to sign up. I suddenly realised that if I pass this well, I could possibly go. I really like the people I’ve met at this church. They’re so kind and friendly and down to earth. And I do want to be a more godly man. But I feel like a) it would be disrespectful as a trans man going to an exclusively men’s group when they view trans men as women. B) it could possibly be unsafe if they wonder why I’m not willing to change in front of them or swim without a rashy.