Experiences of religious acceptance and rejection among currently religious and out transgender young adults in the United States

ABSTRACT

Religious communities, across religious traditions, remain a source of support and community for many people in the United States. Despite reduced engagement in religious activity and historic exclusion of the wider LGBTQ+ community, a contingent of people, including young transgender people, are a part of religious communities. Based on data from the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey report, this study focused on transgender young adults (n = 769; aged 18–24) and their experiences in congregations. Reviewing race, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability status, education level, and religious affiliation, this study investigated how sociodemographic identity is correlated with religious rejection or acceptance for transgender young adults. The findings highlight that race, educational attainment, and religious conservatism are most salient when assessing whether transgender young adults are accepted or rejected in their religious congregations.

KEYWORDS:

• Transgender
• youth
• young adult, religion
• community

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work did not receive any funding.