A white, non-binary teen wears a blue-gray, button-down shirt with a black polka-dot bow-tie while holding a rainbow flag above their head.

Image by freepik.

Read this stuff first!

You'll find important background information and a whole lot more resources in this section's main page. So go check it out!

Notation reminders ( A small image of a book, laying open with its spine flat and one page mid-turn and *):

  • Those preceded by a book (A small image of a book, laying open with its spine flat and one page mid-turn) will teach you your (our) queer and trans history.
  • Everything that's preceded by a red asterisk (*) is a source recommended by my survey-takers.

Recommended resources about religion and faith

"I am religious (Buddhist), and there is a big narrative especially in the US about how religion and transgenderism do not go together, which is a very Christian-centric narrative. Often times when speaking to younger queer people (I'm 19), they condemn religion as a whole, instead of their specific bad experiences, which is hurtful and marginalises religious queer people with positive experiences. My religion does not condemn trans people and I have never felt persecuted for being trans and religious."
"Christianity as we know it today is evolving. Many of the homophobic texts have been mistranslated. What we are isn't a sin. But being in both communities and feeling like you don't really belong in either? It hurts like nothing else. On one hand, I feel like everywhere I go I'm being condemned for being queer. But when I share experiences of being religious, I feel like I'm a fraud in the community. Religious queers need to be normalized."
"Growing up Catholic was very harmful for me because I was taught to hate queer people and by extension myself."
"Being a disabled (I'm almost entirely blind), Jewish, queer person is extremely difficult. Everything I am impacts each other. I can't go to pride or do things like that because I can't walk. And particularly to queer adults, I feel like I'm not allowed to talk about my religion. For me, my experience with religion has been a very positive one, and I know I'm privileged in that, but I've gotten so much vitriol and hurtful things said to me because I am religious by other queer people."
"Being Jewish affects the complicated feelings I get around identity because of bigotry I face from both sides of my identity about the other. Also because of some of my neurodivergencies I can have a hard time understanding people who are cis-het-allo sometimes."
Do you have ideas that aren't included here? Please drop me a line!
A white teen who presents as a girl has rainbows painted on each cheek and braces on her teeth.
By frimufilms at Envato Elements.