Abstract Religion and spirituality have been associated in many studies with an impact on mental and physical health. However, the relationship between religious faith and transgender identities is not well studied. To understand this relationship, the LGBT Committee of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry undertook a qualitative analysis. Participants in this study are a subset of a larger project investigating the role of religion and spirituality among all members of the LGBTQ community. The larger study invited input on LGBTQ identity and faith using an announcement posted by the “Dear Abby” column, published in hundreds of newspapers around the globe. Of the 86 participants in the study, eight responses were examined by participants who identified as transgender. Qualitative analysis of these survey results revealed the following themes: awareness of gender identity and development, mental health, God’s creation and spirit, fear of rejection, ambivalent acceptance, self-sacrifice for community, reconciliation with faith. Themes of both faith identity and gender identity were prevalent. Aspects of dual-identity development were painful and conflictual, but other aspects offered comfort, acceptance, and joy. When a participant’s family and community showed even partial acceptance of their transgender identity, greater resilience and integration resulted.

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宗教信仰和跨性别身份：亲爱的艾比项目

摘要 在许多研究中，宗教和灵性与心理和身体健康有关。然而，宗教信仰与跨性别身份之间的关系并没有得到很好的研究。为了理解这种关系，精神病学促进小组的 LGBT 委员会进行了定性分析。本研究的参与者是一个更大项目的子集，该项目调查宗教和灵性在 LGBTQ 社区所有成员中的作用。更大的研究使用“亲爱的艾比”专栏发布的公告邀请了对 LGBTQ 身份和信仰的投入，该公告发表在全球数百家报纸上。在该研究的 86 名参与者中，有 8 项回答被认定为跨性别者进行了检查。对这些调查结果的定性分析揭示了以下主题：对性别认同和发展的认识、心理健康、上帝的创造和精神、害怕被拒绝、矛盾的接受、为社区自我牺牲、与信仰和解。信仰认同和性别认同的主题都很普遍。双重身份发展的方面是痛苦和冲突的，但其他方面提供了安慰、接受和快乐。当参与者的家人和社区甚至部分接受他们的跨性别身份时，就会产生更大的适应力和融合度。双重身份发展的方面是痛苦和冲突的，但其他方面提供了安慰、接受和快乐。当参与者的家人和社区甚至部分接受他们的跨性别身份时，就会产生更大的适应力和融合度。双重身份发展的方面是痛苦和冲突的，但其他方面提供了安慰、接受和快乐。当参与者的家人和社区甚至部分接受他们的跨性别身份时，就会产生更大的适应力和融合度。