Christian Moral Freedom and the Transgender Person

Abstract

A false sense of freedom is often blamed for gender nonconformity. Transgender and genderqueer persons are accused of manipulating their bodies according to their will and due to a mistaken sense of freedom. This paper challenges this assumption and suggests that it is cisgender persons who ought to adopt a posture of genuine Christian moral freedom, which requires taking risks, seeing that new possibilities of life exist, and recognizing truth in the experiences and bodies of transgender persons. The paper begins by surveying recent theological scholarship on gender fluidity and gender transitions, which offers robust resources but does not address moral freedom, and Catholic magisterial responses to “gender ideology,” which hinge on the assumption that radical autonomy is to blame. The paper then draws on James Gustafson’s rich description of Christian freedom, which he pairs with hope, to suggest that cisgender persons should adopt the posture of Christian freedom that transgender and genderqueer persons already live.