There is a Time

‘a time to keep silence, and a time to speak’ (Ecclesiastes 3:7)

Photo by Ales Krivec on Unsplash

I had a bizarre encounter on Twitter last week. A man claimed that my argument about gender ideology as religion made him feel unsafe. He was particularly upset by my assertion that gender ideology is filling the gaps vacated by Catholicism. He insinuated that my ideas are fuelling extremism and, although he insisted that he didn’t want me to be quiet, he tweeted at me: ‘I’m begging you to stop correlating it [gender ideology] with the removal of faith formation in schools’. He then released both a podcast and a blog in which he repeatedly referred to me and my ideas. This Substack piece is my response.

Firstly, just to say that I like and respect this man and I’ve known him (but not well) for a number of years. I consider him intelligent, considerate, curious, and creative. He is trying to do what is best in difficult circumstances and, over the last few years, has been cautiously exploring the topic of gender identity. Like so many others, he is trying to straddle the divide and to ascertain the best approach. He is very aware of how contentious the topic is, yet he refers to a ‘moral panic’ about gender identity thus indicating that he considers that there is nothing to be too concerned about. It is possibly his attempt not to offend that has resulted in him holding off on expressing any definitive conclusions. This man works in a position of high responsibility in a school and is involved in the care and education of children. The topic of gender ideology is, therefore, relevant for his area of work.

I welcome his response to my writings. It has challenged me and pushed me to think deeper about my arguments. I do understand where he is coming from and his concerns about extremism. However, ultimately, I have concluded that there is a greater danger in ignoring the similarities between gender ideology and religion than in pointing them out.

My own approach is, and always has been, to try to address the topic of gender identity with care and compassion for all. I have always acknowledged that gender identities are very real, and therefore important, for those who have them. I also advocate for an evidence-based approach and for open respectful civil conversations. Dialogue, to me, is key.

Protests in libraries, at politicians’ homes, or at events where women are speaking, only work to instil fear and to stifle the healthy exchange of ideas that is so badly needed. Threatening, abusive and aggressive behaviour - on any side - fuels polarisation and enmity. So too does censorship and the demonisation of those who think differently. All these types of responses fan the flames of extremism. As Dr. Hilary Cass has pointed out in the Cass Review published earlier this month: ‘Polarisation and stifling of debate do nothing to help the young people caught in the middle of a stormy social discourse, and in the long run will also hamper the research that is essential to finding the best way of supporting them to thrive’.

The association of religious decline with the rise of other belief systems is nothing new. Antonio Gramsci argued that once religious faith had gone, people searched for a new system of beliefs. He himself came to see Marxism ‘as a new secular religion’. Becker and Voth have pointed that as religion declined in importance in the 19^th century, a new swathe of ‘ideologies and totalitarian world views spread’. Hannah Arendt, in ‘The Origins of Totalitarianism’, wrote that conceptions of law and morality changed once religions lost authority. The English philosopher Roger Scruton argued that ‘the religion of “human rights”’ was filling the ‘hole in people’s worldview that is left when religion is taken away’.

Others have argued that spirituality is replacing religion. Philip Sheldrake says that spirituality is associated with the quest for meaning and purpose that is linked to the decline of traditional religious authorities.^[1] Sheldrake points out that the concept of spiritual development has been included in some documentation in English schools whereby spirituality is defined as ‘the non-material element of a human being’ and that teachings about spiritual development include the aim to develop a sense of identity. I would argue that gender identity could be understood by some as an element of spiritual development.

One of the complaints made by the man who is upset about my arguments is that I use the term ‘gender ideology’. I use the phrase intentionally. At a basic level, an ideology is simply a set of ideas and ideals. According to the political scientist A. James Gregor, ideologies can contain elements of both science and religion - they put forward moral claims and make qualitative judgements about behaviour at the same time as making scientific or logical claims to truth. Importantly, Gregor notes that ‘nothing in past history suggests that the falsification of any or all such claims would necessarily result in the renunciation of an ideology’. Gregor even goes so far as to say that proponents of ideologies ‘will make every effort to avoid and/or obstruct attempts to determine the truth or falsity of any of its component claims.’ The false assertions of many academics, politicians and activists in their dubious responses to the recently published Cass Review on gender identity services in England are evidence of an ideology in operation.  

The parallels between gender identity and religion are many. The concept of gender identity is similar to the idea of a soul. Both are invisible, empirically unverifiable, subjective, considered sacred, the ‘true self’. Within gender ideology there are symbols of belief including flags and pronoun displays. There are mantras, rituals, and ‘holy’ days. There are changes of name and dress similar to what happens for baptisms, confirmations, ordinations, initiations. There is sacrifice, community, salvation, bodily modification, transformation (or resurrection), the transmigration of the gender identity into a ‘new body’. There is a moral code, a dogma, apostates, heretics, blasphemers, fanaticism, and intolerance.

The man who criticised me referred to my arguments as ‘crude and non-sensical’. Half of a podcast and a full blog entry was devoted to my ideas, as well as many tweets. Maybe I should be flattered but I consider the time wasted when far more important material is out there requiring slow reading and careful consideration. He had nothing to say about the Cass Report other than some people have welcomed it and some people have critiqued it. I acknowledge that gender ideology is a difficult topic to tackle. People who raise their voices face potential risks to career, friendships, and social circles. I understand the hesitancy. But this issue is important. He says that if he had a child in his school with gender identity issues, he would want to help that child out. I suggest, respectfully, that as a start he should read the Cass Review. Then perhaps, it will be time to speak.

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^[1] Sheldrake, Philip. Spirituality : A Brief History, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2013.