We should treat the transgender movement as if it were a religious faith
And the fact that he doesn't believe what I believe isn't hateful — just as it isn't hateful when Americans question some of the views espoused by progressive transgender activists.
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Over the past decade, the transgender movement has gone from seeking representation and access to health care to imposing its own supposed truths on American society. Like the idea that gender is fully mutable. That people born male but identifying as women can safely and fairly play in women's sports. That it's dangerous to tell parents when their children are changing their gender at school. That it's even more dangerous to deny life-altering medical care to children confused about their gender.
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There are no doubt people who
feel
they have been born in the wrong body and who lead more fulfilling lives by adopting characteristics of the opposite gender. Adults should have the right to pursue that kind of life. They deserve respect and inclusion, like any other person, and we should teach children that respect as well.
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But the belief that anyone can be born in the wrong body is just that — a belief. It's neither the product of scientific research nor the outcome of a democratic debate. It's a statement of faith.
Anyone is entitled to that belief, but they aren't entitled to impose it on others. And trans ideology goes further in public institutions, like schools, than modern organized religion legally can.
Even some trans people are uncomfortable with how dogmatic the activism has become. It 'is truly about a messianic vision of dismantling the role of gender and sex in America, which, forgive my language, is just insane,' says Brianna Wu, a trans woman and progressive activist who advocates for transgender health care.
In Arlington public schools, teaching materials
When religion is taught in public schools, it's often presented through a historical or sociological lens.
Here's what a group of people believe, and here's how it all started.
Public school teachers can't force students to recite 'Our Father' when they get to the life of Jesus in world history classes.
But some schools do readily assert that gender is fully mutable and biological sex is insignificant. And they do pressure students' speech by supporting a pronoun culture whereby everyone has to label themselves according to a fluid gender spectrum.
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'This is gender ideology as religion,' Wu told me.
Activists no doubt believe that by pushing transgender ideology into schools, they're helping build a more just society. But the Catholics trying to open the nation's first religious charter school, in Oklahoma, probably think they're doing the same thing. That
The Supreme Court continues to grapple with the fuzzy line between freedom of speech and worship and the separation of church and state. The court has discouraged school-sponsored worship, while allowing accommodations for private religious expression. In the landmark 1962 ruling in Engle v. Vitale, for example, the court found that even nonsectarian prayer sponsored by public schools violated the Establishment Clause. That case was brought by a group of parents who claimed that that form of prayer violated their own family beliefs and religious practices.
Injecting transgender ideology into schools doesn't clearly conflict with the Constitution the way sponsoring school prayer does, but it raises similar concerns: that schools are imposing beliefs on children.
A December
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Still, trans allies might reason: Sure, the activists go too far sometimes, but we'll tolerate a little dogma in the face of a Republican offensive against transgender rights. But their dogmatism predates the crackdown on youth gender medicine and trans people in the military. In many ways, it has
There's another way to champion transgender issues without alienating wide swaths of Americans. Wu believes that transgender activism can accept biological differences while focusing on representation and access to health care — without confusing children. 'Trans extremists have a very clear view. They want access to gender-affirming trans health care [for children], which, to be clear, is extreme,' she says. Wu would prefer a movement that 'is asking for a seat at the table instead of flipping it over.'
In schools, that might look like a lesson in respecting one another's differences instead of one that
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Transgender activists have chosen a radical creed. But they go further than religion would, insisting that you, and your government, must adopt their views. And they're losing their fellow citizens because of it. Perhaps they need to be reminded that in this country, people with different beliefs are expected to get along.
Carine Hajjar is a Globe Opinion writer. She can be reached at
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32 minutes ago
MAGA star Steve Bannon plays outsized role in Trump's Iran decision: Sources
By the time President Donald Trump and MAGA podcaster Steve Bannon sat down for lunch on Thursday, the president had already approved a plan on how the U.S. might attack an Iranian nuclear facility. American diplomats and their family members were being offered military evacuations from Israel, while the military began moving aircraft and ships to the region. The USS Nimitz – an aircraft carrier that can carry some 60 fighter jets – was set to arrive in the Middle East by the weekend with several smaller ships by its side. Officials said the extraordinary show of force would be needed if Trump pulled the trigger on the military option – both to strike Iran's deeply buried nuclear facility and to protect the some 40,000 U.S. troops who Iran and proxy militant groups could target for retaliation. 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Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
This week in Trumponomics: Waiting for the bomb
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The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Israel says it hit Iran nuclear research facility, killed top commanders as both trade strikes
Israel on Saturday said it struck an Iranian nuclear facility in Isfahan and killed two top commanders as the clash between the two Middle Eastern countries expands and President Trump weighs direct intervention. Israeli Air Force fighter jets later in the day also moved to strike military infrastructure in southwestern Iran, according to an Israeli military statement. Saeed Izadi, leader of the Palestine Corps of the Quds Force and Behnam Shahriyari, commander of the Quds Force's Weapons Transfer Unit in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were pronounced dead by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) early Saturday. Israeli officials in a social media post said Izadi was 'one of the main orchestrators' of the Oct. 7, 2023 attack from Hamas. The IDF said Shahriyari was responsible for weapons transfer from Iran to proxies across the Middle East. Israeli officials said he was killed while traveling in western Iran. 'His elimination represents a severe blow to the ability of the terrorist organizations surrounding Israel to regroup and strengthen after being heavily damaged by the IDF during the war,' the IDF wrote. The IRGC has not confirmed the deaths but Akbar Salehi, Isfahan province's deputy governor for security affairs, did confirm damage to their nuclear site in Isfahan, per The Associated Press. Israeli forces, Salehi said, struck the site twice within 24 hours, crippling two centrifuge production sites as a part of their objective to eliminate Iran's nuclear development programs. Iran fired 40 drones overnight on Friday that were intercepted by Israel according to the IDF. 'We've been able to take out a large amount of their launchers, creating a bottleneck — we're making it harder for them to fire toward Israel,' an Israeli military official told AP on the condition of anonymity. 'Having said all that, I want to say the Iranian regime obviously still has capabilities.' The escalation of tensions comes as Trump still weighs his options on U.S. involvement, but has warned Iran not to attack American troops. Citizens are also being evacuated in Israel, per US officials. ''Operation Exodus'' is helping US citizens evacuate Israel. We can't part the Red Sea, but are parting the 'Red Tape' to help people who wish to leave,' U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee wrote in a Saturday post on X. Foreign leaders gathered in Geneva to seek to assist in quelling the violence in the region via diplomacy on Friday, however, talks quickly reached a stalemate as Iranian leaders pushed for consequences on Israel. 'Iran is ready to consider diplomacy once again and once aggression is stopped and the aggressor is held accountable for the crimes committed,' Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters. The United Nations issued a Friday release after the meetings in Geneva condemning Israeli attacks while denouncing the strikes as a violation of international law. Israel first hit Iran's nuclear facilities on June 13, prompting tensions to escalate in the region as US nuclear talks with Iran collapsed. Iran's Health Ministry spokesman Hossein Kermanpour said in an online interview with NewsNation, The Hill's sister station, on Friday that since strikes began, over 3,000 Iranians have been injured, 90 percent of whom are civilians. He said at least 400 people have been killed. The spokesperson added that the youngest injured is a 4-year-old boy, and the youngest victim is a two-month-old baby. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
