Gaining Trans-Sanity

Recently, two polls laid bare the American stopping point with all things trans.

First, a Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) survey revealed an increase over the past two years in the belief that there are only two gender identities – man and woman – among religious groups.

This wasn’t simply “white evangelicals,” though their support of two gender identities went up from 86% to 92%. Hispanic Catholics went from 48% to 66%; increases also marked Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and, shockingly, even Unitarian Universalists.

Overall, about 65% of all Americans (up from 59% two years ago) say there are only two genders.

That’s not all.

Americans are also becoming far less supportive of transgender athlete participation in single-gender sports than they were two years ago. According to Gallup’s annual “Values and Beliefs” poll, currently 69% of Americans say transgender athletes should be restricted to sports teams and competitions that conform with their birth gender compared to 61% in 2021. Americans see the issue as having less to do with transgender civil rights and more to do with competitive fairness. Even among those who knew a transgender person, support fell for transgender athletes being able to compete with teams aligning with their gender identity.

Gallup also polled Americans on their general attitudes toward all things transgender and found that the majority considered changing one’s gender to be morally wrong—from 51% in 2021 to 55% in 2023.

In addition to the new polling, the European medical community – once in the vanguard of recommending medical interventions for gender dysphoria among minors – is now expressing doubts about taking that approach. Five countries – the U.K., Sweden, Finland, Norway and France – now recommend caution in using medical treatments, such as puberty blockers, for minors. 

I did a three-part blog series on all things gender that you can read: “A Theology of Gender,” “The Transgender Issue” and “Children and Gender Identity.” Here’s the essence of the biblical teaching: 1) We are created male and female as part of God’s plan and intent; 2) Being male and female is rooted in biology—it is not something plastic, on a spectrum, to be determined by us, or based on gender identity or gender role; 3) We are a race of males and females, and that is rooted in how we were made; and 4) To violate that – to dishonor that – is a great and grievous offense to our creation and our Creator. 

But we are seeing that you don’t have to be a Christ follower to share many of these convictions. Increasingly people are recognizing what Colin Wright, an evolutionary biologist at Penn State, and Emma Hilton, a developmental biologist at the University of Manchester, call in a Wall Street Journal op-ed piece, “The Dangerous Denial of Sex.” Their position can be summed up in a sentence: “Increasingly we see a dangerous and antiscientific trend toward the outright denial of biological sex.” They write that in current cultural thinking:

If male and female are merely arbitrary groupings, it follows that everyone, regardless of genetics or anatomy should be free to choose to identify as male or female, or to reject sex entirely in favor of a new bespoke “gender identity.”

And their response to that as scientists?

In humans, as in most animals or plants, an organism’s biological sex corresponds to one of two distinct types of reproductive anatomy.... In humans, reproductive anatomy is unambiguously male or female at birth more than 99.98% of the time.... No third type of sex cell exists in humans, and therefore there is no sex “spectrum” or additional sexes beyond male and female. Sex is binary.

All to say, in a healthy psychology, gender and sex are not something simply between our ears, but rather between our legs. Sexuality is not like a favorite color; it is hardwired into our being and was meant to be. 

Which is why I am glad that we are starting to gain some trans-sanity.

James Emery White

Sources

Yonat Shimron, “Poll: Most Religious Americans Believe There Are Only Two Genders,” Religion News Service, June 8, 2023, read online.

Jeffrey M. Jones, “More Say Birth Gender Should Dictate Sports Participation,” Gallup, June 12, 2023, read online.

Marc Ramirez, “Americans Less Supportive of Transgender Athletes Playing for Teams of Their Choice, Poll Finds,” USA Today, June 12, 2023, read online.

Colin M. Wright and Emma N. Hilton, “The Dangerous Denial of Sex,” The Wall Street Journal, February 13, 2020, read online.

Jathon Sapsford and Stephanie Armour, “U.S. Becomes Transgender-Care Outlier as More in Europe Urge Caution,” The Wall Street Journal, June 19, 2023, read online.

About the Author

James Emery White is the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, NC, and a former professor of theology and culture at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he also served as their fourth president. His latest book, Hybrid Church: Rethinking the Church for a Post-Christian Digital Age, is now available on Amazon or from your favorite bookseller. To enjoy a free subscription to the Church & Culture blog, visit churchandculture.org where you can view past blogs in our archive, read the latest church and culture news from around the world, and listen to the Church & Culture Podcast. Follow Dr. White on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @JamesEmeryWhite.

The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of CrosswalkHeadlines.

James Emery White is the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, NC, and a former professor of theology and culture at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he also served as their fourth president. His latest book, Hybrid Church: Rethinking the Church for a Post-Christian Digital Age, is now available on Amazon or from your favorite bookseller. To enjoy a free subscription to the Church & Culture blog, visit churchandculture.org where you can view past blogs in our archive, read the latest church and culture news from around the world, and listen to the Church & Culture Podcast. Follow Dr. White on X, Facebook and Instagram at @JamesEmeryWhite.