Conservative Christianity, Gender Identity, and Religious Liberty: A Primer and a Proposal

This book explores the intersection of conservative Christian values and contemporary theories and expressions of gender identity, i.e. transgender and genderqueer identities. More specifically, it examines the conflict between beliefs about religious liberty and transgender rights. It also proposes a pluralistic morality, allowing for both faith-based values and scientific discoveries about gender to resolve that conflict. Along the way, Dirk de Jong explores various contextual issues: The increase in the number of people who identify as trans or nonbinary, the differences between biblical and queer conceptualizations of gender, the impact of religious freedom policies on transgender rights, the controversy around Title IX exemptions in higher education, the emergence of trans advocacy in conservative Christian communities, and the role of dialogue in social transformation efforts with respect to gender.