{"id":25972,"date":"2024-08-25T14:04:05","date_gmt":"2024-08-25T20:04:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/lgbtq-advocates-say-mormon-churchs-new-policies-marginalize-trans-members\/"},"modified":"2024-08-25T20:04:05","modified_gmt":"2024-08-25T20:04:05","slug":"lgbtq-advocates-say-mormon-churchs-new-policies-marginalize-trans-members","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/lgbtq-advocates-say-mormon-churchs-new-policies-marginalize-trans-members\/","title":{"rendered":"LGBTQ advocates say Mormon church\u2019s new policies marginalize trans members"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"This
This image made with a fisheye lens shows people attending the twice-annual conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, on April 7 in Salt Lake City. (Rick Bowmer\/The Associated Press)<\/span>Rick Bowmer<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has disheartened LGBTQ+ activists after issuing a slew of new policies this week that would significantly restrict the role of its transgender members.<\/p>\n

The guidelines were released Monday as part of updates to the General Handbook of the denomination known widely as the Mormon church. Its new rules, in addition to expanding on an existing rule that prevents transgender people from being baptized, also prohibit transgender people from working with children or serving as priests or teachers.<\/p>\n

The church\u2019s handbook states that those \u201cwho transition away from their biological sex at birth are welcome to attend sacrament meetings\u201d and participate in \u201cmany other ways.\u201d It also encourages these individuals and their families to confer with local leaders regarding their church participation. The new guidelines, however, significantly limit such participation.<\/p>\n

The policy now states that members who have transitioned in any way \u2013 whether that transition is social, medical or surgical \u2013 cannot stay at youth camps overnight and may only use single-occupancy restrooms at church meeting houses. Alternatively, a \u201ctrusted person\u201d must be stationed outside the restroom to keep others from entering when a transgender person uses a restroom that aligns with their personal gender identity.<\/p>\n

The latest edition of the General Handbook while defining and reaffirming gender as one\u2019s biological sex at birth, also states that the faith does not \u201ctake a position on the causes of\u201d gender dysphoria.<\/p>\n

Previously, the interpretation of the church\u2019s policies on this matter were left open to local congregations, their bishops and lay leaders. These new guidelines clarify most of those gray areas.<\/p>\n

Church spokesperson Doug Andersen pointed to a statement released by the denomination, which says the updated guidelines were issued \u201cto help local leaders minister more effectively to individuals who identify as transgender and their families.\u201d<\/p>\n

It states that the changes, in addition clarifying guidance on baptism, confirmation, priesthood and temple ordinances, aims to \u201censure consistency in policies while allowing local leaders flexibility to minister based on each person\u2019s needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHandbook updates seek to help Latter-day Saints follow Jesus Christ\u2019s example of ministering with love, patience and respect,\u201d Andersen said.<\/p>\n

LGBTQ+ advocates within the faith say these stringent guidelines further marginalize transgender people who already feel like outsiders in church. Laurie Lee Hall, a transgender woman who was excommunicated in 2017 after she transitioned, said the new guidelines make it challenging for people like her to keep the faith.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe door seems shut and bolted,\u201d she said Friday.<\/p>\n

Hall, who lives near Louisville, Kentucky, said she has been participating in a local Mormon church that has been welcoming and inclusive by even allowing her to participate in classes and activities with women.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile I\u2019ve had some separation from the church in terms of my membership and beliefs, I\u2019ve enjoyed at least a social connection with the women at church,\u201d Hall said. \u201cNow, none of that is going to be possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new guidelines would require her to attend classes with men.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d attend church in dress, shoes and makeup and be required to site with a bunch of men wearing suits,\u201d Hall said. \u201cIt would put a target on me as someone who is severely off-script.\u201d<\/p>\n

What offends Hall more than that is the church\u2019s policy that transgender people won\u2019t be allowed to work with children or youth, or that they need chaperones to use a bathroom of their choice.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt implies that a trans member is somehow a danger to others,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s dehumanizing and far too toxic to handle for members who are still in the process of reconciling their gender identity with their faith.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new guidelines surfaced even as the denomination, over the past decade-plus, has tried to stake out a more compassionate approach on LGBTQ+ issues while reaffirming its doctrinal opposition to intimacy between people in same-sex relationships. The one detour from that path was in 2015 when the church issued rules that banned baptisms for children of gay parents and that labeled same-sex couples as sinners eligible for expulsion. Those were repealed in 2019.<\/p>\n

Matthew Bowman, who is the Howard W. Hunter Chair of Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California, said the new transgender guidelines are \u201cunsurprising\u201d and have been a long time coming.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been a real struggle for members for a long time since the 1970s and 1980s when the church took a conservative stance on homosexuality,\u201d he said. \u201cThose members are accustomed to the church being unwilling to accommodate and being reluctant to adapt. But, having it spelled out like this is painful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hall says she still hopes the church will change direction as it did when it rescinded a ban on ordination of African Americans. She also worries that if this trajectory of exclusion continues, more people could leave the faith.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a while before a legitimate social policy change occurs in the church,\u201d she said. \u201cIf that continues, there is going to be generational loss because young people are not going to accept these draconian policies. All of this is completely avoidable if only the church can simply say we love you and we\u2019ll find ways to include you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP\u2019s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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