Trans* in the Roman Catholic Church, its theology and denominational religious education: a change of perspective is needed

Abstract

ABSTRACT Trans* is an umbrella term to describe people whose gender is not the same as, or does not sit comfortably with, the sex they were assigned at birth. They may describe themselves using one or more of a wide variety of terms, including (but not limited to) transgender, non-binary, or genderqueer. Nowadays, trans* seems to be well established in mainstream society. But how is Roman Catholic theology and the Church dealing with trans* people and the phenomenon itself? Often trans* people are not noticed, are deliberately excluded, or are simply ignored. This article attempts to consider the topic from a pastoral-theological perspective using the example of denominational religious education and shows why a change of perspective is needed.