Christian, Jewish, Muslim… Anti-Trans?
The National Records of Scotland just unveiled their most recent census results, revealing a faith demographic portrait unlike any other. For the religion category, the census offered a number of check boxes for common faiths like Roman Catholic or the Church of Scotland. It also allowed respondents to write in their own faiths.
The results? Some 2,883 individuals recorded their faith as "believer in biology" – a phrase used by activists who oppose expanding transgender rights and who push back against the notion of changing genders. Notably, amongst those write-in voters was one of the world’s most famous writers.
Is there a new anti-transgender faith in town?
The Biology Believers
The nearly 3,000 "believers in biology" didn’t come by their newfound faith by happenstance.
The campaign for women to record their religion as "believer in biology" was largely organized by the group For Women Scotland, a gender-critical feminist group well known for its women's rights activism – and its narrow definition of the word "woman."
The census campaign was reportedly led in protest of a new government policy allowing respondents to self-report their sex on their census form and removing the requirement to match the sex on their birth certificate.
Supposedly inspired by the suffragette movement’s mass census boycott in 1911, For Women Scotland asked Scottish census takers to write in their faith as "believer in biology" in protest of self-reporting. They say that only verifiable biological sex, as seen on one’s birth certificate, should be recorded on the census, because that data is used to determine the funding for social services impacting women.
“This means the data collected will be a mix of sex and ‘gender identity,’” they wrote, “and we will lose important information about the sex of our population – information that is vital in planning for services.”
Amongst those who wrote in their faith? Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling.
J.K. Rowling and the Anti-Trans Religion
“I was one of those people, [who responded ‘believer in biology’ on the census]” declared Rowling, who lives in Edinburgh.
Rowling is one of the most vocal critics of the transgender movement, often causing controversy online for her incendiary comments about trans people. This stance has often put her at odds with the film series’ young stars, many of whom have repeatedly spoken out against her comments.
Rowling has called the transgender movement everything from misguided to misogynistic, culminating in a 2023 interview where she compared transgender activists to Death Eaters, the soul-sucking villains of the Harry Potter series.
But is she the most famous face of the world’s newest religion? Well... hard to say.
Like the other respondents, ticking ‘believer in biology’ on her census form seems to be Rowling’s way of expressing her dissatisfaction with the transgender movement and its growing acceptance, rather than a sincere religious belief.
Yet this does open up an interesting question: when exactly does political ideology turn into a religious-like zealotry?
Some may argue when one documents it as their faith on a census form.
What do you think?
49 comments
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James Riggle-Johnson
Putting the transgender issue aside for the moment I love the second to last line.
“Yet this does open up an interesting question: when exactly does political ideology turn into a religious-like zealotry?
Hasn’t it already happened?
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Asa William Sprague, II
I wonder how JK Rowling feels about Larch pines?
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April B
I don’t think it’s fair that gender affirming care doesn’t work both ways. If someone wants to transition to another sex, insurance will cover the cost. But if a woman wants to have breast augmentation, to feel more like a woman, she would have to pay out of pocket. THAT AIN’T RIGHT! 😡
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Michael Howard Schrader
Do you realize how insulting your comment is to smaller breasted women? What about breast-cancer survivors who had to have a mastectomy; are they no longer women? Your womanhood has nothing to do with your size.
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April B
First of all… I’m one of those women!!! Thank you very much. Don’t tell me what’s insulting unless you’ve walked in my shoes! You don’t speak for me and my experiences! Second, to clarify, I was talking about how certain surgeries are covered for some and not others!!!!!! 😤😡 Don’t get me started!!!! You trying to take what I said in another direction!!! Don’t go there with me!!!!!
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Rev. Dr. Father JJ
anger issues much?
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April B
Yup!!!
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Robert Gagnon
They want facial and body reconstruction, even hair removal paid for also. I know a lot of women that would like that covered in their insurance. It would make real women fell better about themselves but, somehow only wanna be women get the perks?
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Thomas P. Davis
It is sad how society has dictated what we should look like and how we should act and not let us be satisfied with who we are.
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Stephanie A Willey
The Believers in Biology are sadly ignorant of biology. Binary gender alone does not exist in the animal kingdom. In humans, there are 27 different X and Y chromosome combinations. Furthermore, gender identity and anatomical sex are not the same and during fetal development happen at very different stages and under very different conditions. It's science. Go look it up.
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April B
SMH. I have nothing against anyone in the LGBTQ community. However, it puzzles me that people think there is a gray area to human anatomy. It’s black and white. A person born a male cannot have a menstrual cycle; and a person born a female doesn’t need a prostate exam. I will call you by what ever pronouns you want. But at the end of the day, cosmetic procedures are just that. A means for the physical to connect with the mental.
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Rev. Klaire ThD, MA
For the ignorant among us, I'll just drop this here!
On biological sex: Open Ocean Exploration @RebeccaRHelm
Rebecca is a biologist and an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina, Asheville USA.
She writes,
“Friendly neighborhood biologist here. I see a lot of people are talking about biological sexes and gender right now. Lots of folks make biological sex seem really simple. Well, since it’s so simple, let’s find the biological roots, shall we? Let’s talk about sex...[a thread]
If you know a bit about biology you will probably say that biological sex is caused by chromosomes, XX and you’re female, XY and you’re male. This is “chromosomal sex” but is it “biological sex”? Well...
Turns out there is only ONE GENE on the Y chromosome that really matters to sex. It’s called the SRY gene. During human embryonic development the SRY protein turns on male-associated genes. Having an SRY gene makes you “genetically male”. But is this “biological sex”?
Sometimes that SRY gene pops off the Y chromosome and over to an X chromosome. Surprise! So now you’ve got an X with an SRY and a Y without an SRY. What does this mean?
A Y with no SRY means physically you’re female, chromosomally you’re male (XY) and genetically you’re female (no SRY). An X with an SRY means you’re physically male, chromsomally female (XX) and genetically male (SRY). But biological sex is simple! There must be another answer...
Sex-related genes ultimately turn on hormones in specifics areas on the body, and reception of those hormones by cells throughout the body. Is this the root of “biological sex”??
“Hormonal male” means you produce ‘normal’ levels of male-associated hormones. Except some percentage of females will have higher levels of ‘male’ hormones than some percentage of males. Ditto ditto ‘female’ hormones. And...
...if you’re developing, your body may not produce enough hormones for your genetic sex. Leading you to be genetically male or female, chromosomally male or female, hormonally non-binary, and physically non-binary. Well, except cells have something to say about this...
Maybe cells are the answer to “biological sex”?? Right?? Cells have receptors that “hear” the signal from sex hormones. But sometimes those receptors don’t work. Like a mobile phone that’s on “do not disturb’. Call and cell, they will not answer.
What does this all mean?
It means you may be genetically male or female, chromosomally male or female, hormonally male/female/non-binary, with cells that may or may not hear the male/female/non-binary call, and all this leading to a body that can be male/non-binary/female.
Try out some combinations for yourself. Notice how confusing it gets? Can you point to what the absolute cause of biological sex is? Is it fair to judge people by it?
Of course you could try appealing to the numbers. “Most people are either male or female” you say. Except that as a biologist professor I will tell you...
The reason I don’t have my students look at their own chromosome in class is because people could learn that their chromosomal sex doesn’t match their physical sex, and learning that in the middle of a 10-point assignment is JUST NOT THE TIME.
Biological sex is complicated. Before you discriminate against someone on the basis of “biological sex” & identity, ask yourself: have you seen YOUR chromosomes? Do you know the genes of the people you love? The hormones of the people you work with? The state of their cells?
Since the answer will obviously be no, please be kind, respect people’s right to tell you who they are, and remember that you don’t have all the answers. Again: biology is complicated. Kindness and respect don’t have to be.'
Note: Biological classifications exist. XX, XY, XXY XXYY and all manner of variation which is why sex isn't classified as binary. You can't have a binary classification system with more than two configurations even if two of those configurations are more common than others.
Biology is a shitshow.
Be kind to people.”
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Rev. Dr. Father JJ
Rev K, thank you for sharing that. And thanks to Rebecca Helm for taking the time to write this down so even the most ignorant among us can (with some effort on their part) understand this issue a little more clearly (hopefully).
But as we know, facts and knowledge does not mean a person will change their mind and also means that with some cognitive dissonance on their part and embedded within the proper community, they can still, after having read Prof. Helm's explanation, declare it just so much BS.
But at least the facts have been presented, people here can (and many will) ignore them in support of their trite, mean spirited religious beliefs and continue to carry on hating people they have decided are worthy of their hate (or displeasure, or dislike, or because they're different)
Her last sentence is most important because so many people are exactly NOT that, kind to people that are different from them. But they will still, and always, call themselves...kkkris chn
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April B
Rev JJ, I’m a medical professional. I’ve had several transgender patients. I don’t treat them any differently than the next patient. However, depending on which illness they are being treated for, specifically regarding reproductive organ issues, what they are born as determines the type of treatment options they have. Has nothing to do with someone’s feelings or religion. It’s modern medicine.
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Rev. Klaire ThD, MA
April, I don't see you as a medical professional. I believe you're probably a hack and a poser attempting to exhibit faux credentials to illicit undue (or false) respect that you aren't due.
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April B
Look, you are just trying to think of something to counter what I’m saying. You don’t have to believe anything I say. You can just ask any MD or nurse near you and see what they say. Facts are facts.
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Rev. Klaire ThD, MA
JJ, thank you but my reposting of Prof. Helm's words wasn't necessarily to 'help' April but to contrast her ignorance with real professional understanding for others who read this. Your comments are a testament to how this works and I thank you for holding a mirror up to her.
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April B
Yeah blah, blah, blah. None of that matters. What matters is what manifests at birth for a persons care and treatment plan medically. A trans female will never have to get screened for cervical cancer because they don’t have a cervix.
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Rev. Dr. Father JJ
Of course it matters. Maybe not to you, but then nobody is talking about you, the discussion is about transgender and how it's the new hot button of hate. But it appears you're aware of that already...
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April B
What matters to me is how to care for my patients. I don’t like it when someone calls ignorance when they don’t have hands on experience. That does push my buttons. You can point your finger all you want. I’m keeping it 💯 with you. Biological gender matters in healthcare.
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Rev. Dr. Father JJ
Lighten up, nobody, at least not me, said biological gender doesn't matter in healthcare. That appears to be an issue you brought up and are arguing.
Meanwhile the rest of us are just arguing the issue of transgender and how some parts of the world seems to hate those people and their issues.
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Russel A. Kester
No, JJ, it isn't that some of us hate those people and their issues; it's that we resent social justice warrior activists pushing these things onto vulnerable children. We resent being told to call someone who is clearly a man by the wrong pronouns. We resent the cultic ferver of the ideologies of the wacky progressives who we see are doing everything they can to destroy our culture, our heritage, and our country.
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Michael Hunt
Progressives are trying to improve our country not destroy it. Conservatives are trying to hold us back and strip rights from women and the LGBTQ community. If children are so vulnerable, as conservatives seems to think, why is indoctrinating them into a religion that teaches them to hate those different from them okay?
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Robert Gagnon
Lets stick to sex instead of gender since gender has been so distorted. If you are born with the equipment to potentially inseminate a female, you are male. If you are born with the necessary parts to potentially ovulate, carry and feed a baby, you are female. A rare few people are born neither, but none are born fully functional both sexes. For the sake of procreation there are only two sexes, that is what most people mean by biology. Forget about X,Y, birth defects or identity disorders, it's potential procreation ability. And their are only two sexes, and that's binary.
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Russel A. Kester
The article asked "when exactly does political ideology turn into a religious-like zealotry." Look at wokeism as one example. But it's very interesting that feminism should clash with transgenderism. While there is much in feminism I am opposed to, I must credit those feminists in the article for understanding what a woman is and what one is not.
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Rev. Dr. Father JJ
what is the opposite of "wokism"? has to be 'asleepism'. eyes closed, oblivious, blanket pulled up over the head. yup, that explains what's going on on the other side of ''woke".
transgenderism? seriously? read a book, learn something, gain some empathy instead of condemning people for something they have no control over (and you personally disapprove of). you might just as well condemn the blind, or the epileptic or the left-handed...sheesh. for whatever 'religion' you lay claim to I'm pretty sure you're not doing them any justice (or maybe you are, either way, just plain sad)
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Robert James Ruhnke
Wokeism is a conservative projection which doesn’t actually exist. It’s a bogeyman shadow puppet they use to terrify themselves with in the back of the existential cave y’all refuse to get out of. These terfs aren’t about equality, they’re about gender essentialism where women are in control and on top. The actual male hating portion of the feminists. It’s hilarious how misogynists and misandrists are teaming up in an effort to use another to get to the top of their social structures by hating trans people. It’s weird and bizarre.
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Michael Howard Schrader
Wokeism? Seriously? So you are against being open minded and empathetic?
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Russel A. Kester
Far-left, woke ideologies are neither open minded nor empathetic. They operate with cultic religious fever. They're dangerous to our country.
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Michael Hunt
Making sure systems don't discriminate against people of color is dangerous to our country?
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Russel A. Kester
Michael, a non sequitur response to he sure. Our society for not discriminate against 'people of color' as you put it or against women or gays or lesbians or Democrats or secularists and the lost goes on and on. Come into the 21st century already. Your still fighting battles from the late 1800's.
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Michael Hunt
So women don't make less than men for the same job? Minorities don't have a fraction of the net worth that white families do? People of color aren't killed by police more than twice as frequently as white people? All of these things still occur in the 21st century. If you pulled your head out of the sand, maybe you would recognize it.
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Reverend Paula Copp
I don’t know about the veracity of this article, but it sounds like something Rowling would do…
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Monica Pena
Mobilize Recovery Day in the Park - Baltimore! MOBILIZE RECOVERY ROLLS INTO BALTIMORE FOR A DAY OF SERVICE AND CELEBRATION with MARYLAND LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR ARUNA MILLER!!
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Elizabeth Jane Erbe Wilcox
As the parent of a transgender child it disgusts me that anyone can just casually think their transphobia is legit. It’s not. And JK, you can go suck your own private parts…no matter what they might be.
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Rebecca L Tice
I married a man. I did everything right.... and then I came home from work early one day to find my "husband" in bed with a man. I did nothing wrong.
I tried to get out of that marriage right then and there. I was informed it was against my religion. Once married, you are married for life. "You made your bed, now lay in it."
Now I have a gay granddaughter.
Go ahead... tell me that it's Satanic... I did nothing wrong. My granddaughter did nothing wrong.
She even went to Catholic School!
Tell me again how it's Satanic.
What better birth control can you come up with????
Natural abstinence... maybe????
I did nothing wrong and neither did my granddaughter.... and there is something in the book of Revelation that was held from us... is it the gay side?????
Shut your mean faces.... we did nothing wrong... and I've been a Christian since 1962.
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Thomas P. Davis
You're half correct. Marriage is for life. But if one or the other commits fornication you are free to marry. again
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Echo
Rowling has become the foremost "death eater" as a proponent of hate speech against individuals trying to happy in life. Sad that a following has dehumanized human beings that have existed far longer than the Christian faith. We are all humans, and should have compassion not hate.
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Nicholas J Page
This is news to me as nobody has heard of this news not even my scots friends and I have Scottish Ancestory also.
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Rev. MichaelRS
In the thousands upon thousands of years of human history if this gender ideology, your gender expression being really being different than your biological sex was a thing, you would think somebody would have figured it out a few hundred years ago at least.
But that aside, one aspect of this discussion is pretty interesting to me.
While there may be an isolated case of the reverse here and there (though I've not heard of one) have you ever noticed that it's pretty much always biological men/boys who transition to women/girls who are hard bent on getting into girls and women's sports and locker rooms and bathrooms?
You never hear any big controversies about biological women transitioning and then wanting to get into men's and boys sports and locker rooms in bathrooms.
Especially what you never hear about is a biological woman who is mediocre in whatever sport who then transitions and then starts to kick *** in men's sports.
And I've definitely never heard of a biological female who is claiming to be male then going into the boys bathroom at school and sexually assaulting a boy. But there have been several verified incidents of it being the other way around
Nor have I ever heard of a female who says she's a male being assigned to a male prison and getting pregnant because she allowed a few of the biological prisoners to lay with her. But once again there are verifiable reports of biological males who claim to be female being assigned to jails and prisons who have gone on to get biological female prisoners pregnant.
Kind of weird how that weirdness all works out that way
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Asa William Sprague, II
The human race is filled with weirdness. Like the fact that millions of people die every day from treatable conditions. How weird is that?
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Russel A. Kester
Michael, there are reasons for your observations, but most of society just doesn't want to hear them. So, this just needs to play out. The worst thing men can do is to rescue women for the mess they made over the last 60+ years. But most likely men's natural inclination to protect women, even from their own foolishness, won't stop them from doing so..
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Robert James Ruhnke
How misogynistic of you to say, Russell. A woman hating gay. That’s not first. Won’t be the last I’m sure.
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Russel A. Kester
No, Robert, neither misogyny nor hatred. Starting with a feminist publication back in the 1880's it was a stated goal to feminize men. Well, now they have it, and they can deal with the monsters their ideology creates.
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Thomas P. Davis
I have read the same over the years. I read a book back in the early 90's that was on women's clothing and how they were slowly changing it to be more masculine, then I listened to a sermon named " Save the males" it showed all the statistics on education and how it was feminizing men. Even when I was a scout leader, I could see the difference between boys joining the troop from off the street and those transferring from cub scouts where they were educated by den mothers, then most recently I have read where it a part of reducing the population.
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Michael Hunt
The idea that it's part of a scheme to reduce the population is nothing but a conspiracy theory and scaremongering. Just because the performative masculinity of the past is falling to the wayside doesn't mean that men need to be saved. As a man myself, I am thriving despite not adhering to the stereotypical masculine image conservatives think men should express. I believe we all have a masculine and feminine side to us that we all need to embrace. Embracing my femininity has been life changing in the positive.
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This is such a simple response that requires only one question: "is it loving to condemn/judge a person for wanting to be what they believe themselves to be?"
If funding is based on "numbers of people who identify as female" then wouldn't the amount INCREASE as a result of transgender identification?
Ok, that was two questions...
Cynthia, is it loving to enable a person to live in a make believe world and harm children because those who should be the adults allow these delusions to infest society in the name of being loving and nonjudgmental? Of course not. Getting these mentally ill people the proper healthcare they need and not enabling their delusions is the loving thing to do.
Gender affirming care is the proper healthcare some transgender persons need. They have to spend years in therapy first and only after trying mental health therapy do doctors recommend gender affirming care. So many on the right are completely ignorant of the process of getting gender affirming care that they don't realize that the mental healthcare they say these people need is already something they receive on their path.
Being transgender isn't a mental illness much like being autistic is not a mental illness; it's a condition people live with and there are treatments to make being transgender or autistic less of a challenge.