MORE THAN 90 PERCENT OF AMERICAN CATHOLICS BACK TRANSGENDER RIGHTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

http://www.equally-blessed.org/node/21

Equally Blessed hails laity's willingness to move beyond bishops' "insensitive and uniformed" teaching

WASHINGTON, D. C., November 8, 2011--The majority of American Catholics disagree with the teachings of their bishops on sexual issues so often that it is a wonder that the news media continues to speak of the Catholic Church's position on a given issue when what they really mean is the position of the Catholic hierarchy.

This is nowhere more evident than in recent polling on transgender issues that found that 93 percent of American Catholics believed that transgender people deserve the same legal rights and protections as other Americans. The hierarchy, on the other hand, teaches that transsexual individuals do not exist, and that those who believe themselves to be transsexuals suffer from a psychiatric disorder.

I have a hard time believing this.

yeah my parents would be part of that 7%

That's the thing... Even 7% of all of the American Catholics is a large number.

And of those 7%, I'd venture a guess that 90% of them are extreme Catholics and feel it's their God given right to let us know exactly how they feel about it.

Current stats have the Catholic population (judged by registered members - people who are on the roles at a local parish) at about 77.5 million people, which would make about 5,430,000 people who object, or about 1.8% of the full US population, or statistically insignificant.

And the numbers don't surprise me at all.  Though they may take issue with the practice/reality of transsexualism - the question was about civil rights, and the Catholics in the US have always been (because of being on the short end of so much of this) pretty liberal, in that they feel that civil society should not prohibit something just because some religious group does not like it or approve of it.

QuoteEven 7% of all of the American Catholics is a large number.

Sure, but would you have preferred it if it had been the other way around? That 7% wanted the equal rights and 93% were against it?

No, probably not.


Sometimes people are really too negative.

Quote from: Bishounen on November 27, 2011, 09:28:07 AM
Sure, but would you have preferred it if it had been the other way around? That 7% wanted the equal rights and 93% were against it?

No, probably not.


Sometimes people are really too negative.

I wouldn't call my comment being negative. 7% makes for far better odds that I wont ever have to deal with angry mobs holding pitch forks and crosses at my door. But like tekla said, it's still about 5.4 million people. 1.8% of the total population means about 2 out of 100 people might feel strongly against being trans and if you look at the news it's obvious some of those people are willing to be aggressive to trans people.

When you live in a city where 100 people can pass you by in a 15 minute time span that can make for a really long day IMO.

Quote from: LivingInGrey on November 27, 2011, 09:52:45 AM
I wouldn't call my comment being negative. 7% makes for far better odds that I wont ever have to deal with angry mobs holding pitch forks and crosses at my door. But like tekla said, it's still about 5.4 million people. 1.8% of the total population means about 2 out of 100 people might feel strongly against being trans and if you look at the news it's obvious some of those people are willing to be aggressive to trans people.

When you live in a city where 100 people can pass you by in a 15 minute time span that can make for a really long day IMO.

Wait- Are you saying that you would actually prefer that the numbers wanting equal rights for Transgenders had been 7% instead of 93%?

I think Living in Grey is saying the statistics show that the bias is still there.  And if I may I think that because some of these minority percentages feel that people are getting coaxed into agreeing with the "gay agenda"  even though transgender issues have nothing to do with gay rights,   some of these people feel a need to be even more aggressive in their rejection of transgender people.   So it gets violent and very hostile.


I'm glad people are starting to recognize it as a medical condition.  But there are more than enough bigots out there to ruin a person's life.

ok so coming from that background it actually took me a really long time to come out because i had a lot of feeling of guilt that were ingrained at that point as well as, and i'm ashamed to say it feeling like it did make me a freak some how because of my up bringing. thing is that yes that 7% pretty much look at themselves as gods chosen faithful. they don't care that they are in the minority, it makes them fight twice as hard and they see us as freaks for the most part because we are "mutilating" the body given us that was created in gods image. we are destroying the sacred vessels for our souls. now as a rational person i find this ridiculous, i don't remember it saying anywhere that god was both man and woman simultaneously but separately. he is always presented as a big white guy in the sky so how are we all made in his image and how can we be insulting god somehow because of it. additionally he is always addressed as "father". what we need to remember here is that Catholicism is highly based on texts that are "divinely inspired" by a bunch of guys from a highly patriarchal society. on top of that Catholicism is incredibly gendered as a religion so the idea of us being able to "switch" our bodies and therefor our roles is disturbing to them.

The problem here is (and it's anywhere a group leadership calls the shots) what does the Pope think?  And what stand on this has the Catholic Church officially taken?  Last I checked, it's not what these 90% back.

Here in the USA, the majority believes a lot of things that are contrary to US policy and standing.  Yet we don't do anything about it, like voting out those elected officials who act contrary to majority standings.  Catholics may not be able to vote for their pope, but they can choose not to make donations unless church policy supports the same ideals they support.

I doubt that the Catholic Church has taken a stand on TG law in the US yet.  No need as they don't have an TG policy/debate/dogma, so they don't know where to stand on it.

Actually, the official Catholic policy (and this is coming from someone who went to K-12 of Catholic schooling) is to lump transgender people in with gays in calling their gender-transgressing behavior "immoral." They say that if you're born male, you act like a man and marry a woman; if you're born female, you act like a woman and marry a man.

Quote from: Butterflyhugs on December 02, 2011, 01:24:22 PM
They say that if you're born male, you act like a man and marry a woman; if you're born female, you act like a woman and marry a man.

What if you're a bad actor and too smart to get married?

Hell of course

Quote from: Zythyra on November 10, 2011, 10:32:42 AM
MORE THAN 90 PERCENT OF AMERICAN CATHOLICS BACK TRANSGENDER RIGHTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

http://www.equally-blessed.org/node/21

Equally Blessed hails laity's willingness to move beyond bishops' "insensitive and uniformed" teaching

WASHINGTON, D. C., November 8, 2011--The majority of American Catholics disagree with the teachings of their bishops on sexual issues so often that it is a wonder that the news media continues to speak of the Catholic Church's position on a given issue when what they really mean is the position of the Catholic hierarchy.

This is nowhere more evident than in recent polling on transgender issues that found that 93 percent of American Catholics believed that transgender people deserve the same legal rights and protections as other Americans. The hierarchy, on the other hand, teaches that transsexual individuals do not exist, and that those who believe themselves to be transsexuals suffer from a psychiatric disorder.

Although the actual polling data is not presented with the article, and several of the opinions derived from the data are non sequiturs, there is nothing inconsistent with supporting civil rights while at the same time frowning upon the associated behaviors.

What is the old adage? Love the sinner; hate the sin.

Quote from: Jamie D on January 04, 2012, 04:53:39 AM
What is the old adage? Love the sinner; hate the sin.

Every time I've ever heard that it came from someone particularly judgmental.

What is the old adage? Love the sinner; hate the sin.
Every time I've ever heard that it came from someone particularly judgmental.

Every time I hear it I reach for my wallet to make sure it's still there because these people always need money.

Quote from: Zythyra on November 10, 2011, 10:32:42 AM93 percent of American Catholics believed that transgender people deserve the same legal rights and protections as other Americans.

I'm surprised the number isn't higher.

Just scrolled up. Jamie D already said it

Until the Vatican stops insisting TG is a mental illness, there will be no help from the RCC as an organisation, regardless of how much individuals ignore the official policy.
If governments listen to what is a religious minority these days, they might just as well listen to extreme Muslim demands for Shariat Law.   Not much real difference in numbers I'd say.

Karen.