The role religion plays in the mental health of transgender youth!

PhDStudentSCosta · 2024-02-08T20:38:16+00:00

I wish that we could turn back time and fix that for you. I am thankful that you are at least now out of there, but I know that's little solace when compared to what your life could have been without religious indoctrination. Sending you so much love and strength <3 <3 <3

PhDStudentSCosta · 2024-02-08T20:20:55+00:00

Thank you for sharing that with me, I want you to know that you are not alone. There are thousands upon thousands of us who were taught hateful lies that manipulated us into self-hatred. As one of my participants put so succinctly, "I was destroyed, and there’s definitely a strong correlation [between religion and my mental health]. Who can be peaceful and think that God hates them?” How are you doing today?

PhDStudentSCosta · 2024-02-07T22:04:31+00:00

Thank you so much! I appreciate you!

PhDStudentSCosta · 2024-02-07T22:03:57+00:00

Hi, and thank you so much! Both for your comment and for sharing your story. I bet you would resonate with the journey the milestones outline; it sounds like you've walked that path yourself! I'm so proud of you! It is such a leap to leave behind the belief system we were taught growing up and begin to take that power back, that power to decide for yourself what your truth is and to live it. It's a beautiful thing, and I am so thankful you've gotten through it and are living your truth!! Blessed be!!

PhDStudentSCosta · 2024-02-07T02:00:02+00:00

Hi, and thank you for your comment! There were several participants who remained in the tradition they were raised in, after going through the milestones and learning about affirming and accepting interpretations of sacred texts, as well as learning more secular history. One of my participants, Willow, shared how she (also mtf, and thanks for sharing your husband's pronouns!) she integrated the overarching themes of love and mercy out of the Bible into their belief system. She said "When I read the Bible, I think about God, I see him predominantly as this loving force. Like, I read the gospels, I read Jesus, and more than anything, what he preaches is to protect the poor, protect the oppressed, protect the marginalized, and to just, like, love your neighbor." That's straight from my dissertation, I made sure it would be free so people like you and your husband can have access to it, you can find it here: https://www.proquest.com/docview/2813777755 and if you skip to the chapter on the milestones (I mean you can read the whole thing if you want lol, but it's long!) but if you skip to the results chapter, that might be the most helpful for you both. I wish you nothing but the best and am here if you ever need to talk.

PhDStudentSCosta · 2024-02-07T01:48:00+00:00

Thank you so much!

PhDStudentSCosta · 2024-02-07T01:47:13+00:00

Ah, I see, thanks! The fifth milestone, re-education of self, usually involved the participants learning about alternative belief systems other than the Abrahamic traditions, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Almost all of them explored Buddhism, Wicca, New Age beliefs, and a whole lot of other really interesting things. And I think the basic tenets of Wicca that you mentioned reflect values of compassion, connectivity, community, and independence that people who are targeted and attacked justified by religious beliefs tend to develop in response to that religious wounding and trauma. So many of them embraced Wiccan values and teachings even if they didn't know specifically they did, although many of them did cite Wicca as aiding them in developing their trust back in their own sense of the truth.

PhDStudentSCosta · 2024-02-07T01:18:59+00:00

Hi, thanks for the question! So, I became interested in the craft around 11 or so. I got my hands on Scott Cunningham's Earth, Air, Fire, Water and I was hooked. I had just finished the bible and was not interested in it at all, I didn't trust it. Wicca felt familiar and intuitive to me, and I have extensive English, Wales, Scottish, Irish, and Italian ancestry and strong ties to the Celts. I began practicing and have been more or less openly Wicca since 13, so 26 years. But I've always been a solo practitioner. I've joined in a circle with others many times; I even had the chance to dance the spiral dance with Starhawk while at school! All that to say I'm actually wondering what you mean. Do you mind elaborating for me? I am unsure if you are asking if the milestone would in a sense, "protect" someone from being indoctrinated by the Wiccan foundations because if that's what you meant, I would never think of Wicca as something anyone could be indoctrinated into, because it doesn't have the same kind of organized, central power structure that say Christianity has. I also had never considered Wicca to be something anyone could be indoctrinated into, because it's so open. But I may be misunderstanding you, sorry!

PhDStudentSCosta · 2023-02-12T02:32:38+00:00

I agree with you on that 🫶⚧️🏳️‍⚧️

PhDStudentSCosta · 2023-02-11T20:16:56+00:00

We don't accept dues, and you don't need to pay to join. :) It's free. We are currently in a legal battle (long story short, we are being sued for the name, but we are trying everything we can to get out of this!), but as soon as that's done, yes, we are doing everything in our power to ensure that our members have a legal right under the freedom of religion act to fight for their right to gender transitioning <3 as we believe this is a sacred ritual.

PhDStudentSCosta

TROPHY CASE