More than 2,100 clergy and lay members of the Church of England have signed an open letter calling on the church hierarchy to “revise, postpone or withdraw” guidance on transgender people, saying it lacks “serious theological analysis”.
The guidance was issued in December and provided advice on conducting public ceremonies to affirm the new identity of trans people. Julian Henderson, head of the committee that produced the guidelines, said in a statement at the time that the decision was “rooted in scripture”.
But the open letter said that while the signatories are “unreservedly committed to welcoming everyone to our churches and communities of faith”, they do not believe that the guidance is the right way to do this, “since it raises some significant issues for the church’s belief and practice”.
Their concerns include what they say appears to be a “misuse” of the liturgy, saying that while reaffirmation of baptismal vows “might well be appropriate at certain seasons of life, it should primarily be focussed on celebrating new life in Christ rather than a new situation or circumstance”, as well as the inclusion of new Biblical readings and “their suggestion that the changes of name for Biblical characters in the light of God’s salvific action and intervention offer a legitimate parallel to the change of name associated with gender transition”.
The letter also says that there doesn’t appear top have been “any consideration of the enormous and often traumatic impact of gender transition by an individual on immediate friends and family, including spouse and children” and notes that the notion of gender transition is “highly contested” in wider society.
“There is widespread concern at the idea of biological males claiming to be women when they have not shared their personal and social experience; there has been a worrying increase in rapid onset gender dysphoria (ROGD) particularly amongst girls who appear to lack confidence in their identity as female; there are concerns about the long-term effects of ‘puberty blocking’ hormones given the poor quality of the research; and there is no scientific or medical consensus that surgical and medical interventions (‘gender transition’) effectively address the complex symptoms associated with gender dysphoria over the long term,” the letter said. “The bishops’ guidance offers no recognition of the wider issues at play here.”
The Church of England has reportedly said the bishops will give the letter their “serious consideration”, adding that the guidance is not a “restatement or a new statement on matters relating to gender, nor does it change the Church of England’s teaching”.
