“If God is perfect, why am I in the wrong body?” a transgender patient recently asked a hospital chaplain I know. Late one Saturday night, the chaplain wasn’t sure how to respond. The patient had been raised Catholic and still had strong religious beliefs, but now she felt distressed.
The patient’s statements reflected some big questions, including why people are transgender, why we are who we are, after all, and what role, if any, does God play in all of this?
The chaplain stammered out that the patient’s soul had been created by God, and that in His eyes the soul was perfect, but that “a million little things happen with cell division” in creating a body, and that “for some reason, in some people, their body doesn’t match up with what they feel their soul is, but fortunately, with today’s treatment we can make it match up.” The patient felt better, but the chaplain was still troubled, feeling that his answers were insufficient and that there was a larger tension behind the questions.
This year during LGBTQ+ Pride Month, I’ve been thinking a lot about their interactions.
This pastor shared with me about his interactions with them while I was doing research for my book. Doctor, Can You Pray for Me?: Medical Chaplains and Holistic HealingI explored whether, when, and how spiritual, religious, and existential issues come into play as patients try to cope with medical and other problems. I found that patients often struggle with fundamental human questions about why they face the difficulties they do.
Much of the recent media discussion of LGBTQ+ issues has focused heavily on laws against LGBTQ+, particularly transgender, individuals. In 2023 alone, state legislatures have introduced more than 220 bills that undermine the rights and welfare of transgender and non-binary individuals, with more than 70 bills enacted, including bills restricting gender-affirming care or labeling such treatment as “child abuse.” So far this year, 10 more states have passed such bills, and while the number of new laws is lower than last year, roughly half of all states now have such laws on the books.
But this population faces many other challenges: these laws raise many issues, foster prejudice and discrimination, foster psychological, spiritual, existential and religious challenges that also need attention.
Discrimination and stigma contribute to mental health issues: LGBTQ+ people are two to three times more likely to suffer from depression than the general population, and the rate is even higher for transgender people (almost half), and the suicide rate among this group of young people is three times higher than heterosexual people.
We all face fundamental human challenges in life and we all seek and need sources of meaning, hope, purpose and connection – and not finding these can lead to anxiety and despair.
For millennia, spirituality and religion have helped billions of people find answers and cope by providing social and psychological support. But while many religious institutions have become more accepting of LGBTQ+ people, others remain wary, and many members of the LGBTQ+ community feel rejected or unwelcome by various religious and other institutions.
Still, spirituality is important to most LGBTQ+ people: In 2014, 55% of LGBTQ+ adults and 56% of heterosexuals thought about the meaning and purpose of life at least once a week, and 54% of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people said they “felt a deep sense of spiritual peace and happiness.” The majority of LGBTQ+ people (77%) believe in God, and 38% pray daily.
This LGBTQ+ Pride Month is an important opportunity to recognize how these people have significant religious, spiritual, existential and other psychological needs that we can often support. Many of us are members of religious, spiritual and other institutions that could be more accepting and that we can influence and shape. Currently, millions of heterosexual people do not fully recognize or appreciate these challenges, and this could inspire a change in attitudes and an opportunity for us, as individuals and organizations, to reach out and make LGBTQ+ people feel as welcome as possible in various organizations and communities.
This transgender patient’s seemingly simple question highlights how LGBTQ+ people can contend in special ways with fundamental human challenges that we all face and that many of us can help solve.
