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Affirming Identity: Disagreement or Personal Attack?

Affirming Identity: Disagreement or Personal Attack?

Last updated on: August 16, 2022 at 5:36 pm by Dennis Knapp

Affirming Identity: Disagreement or Personal Attack? 2022-08-16T17:36:20-06:00 Dennis Knapp

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Is my Catholic identity invalidated by non-Catholics who cannot accept that which I hold to as ultimate truth and makes up a large part of my interpersonal identity? Should I consider hateful anyone who does not support my lived Catholic experience and denies it even as possible that my beliefs are true? Such questions may seem absurd, but this line of questioning is what those who disagree with transgender ideology deal with on a regular basis when discussing transgenderism in the public square.

Both a Psychological and Ontological Attack

I recently had a discussion in the comments section of this article about gender identity. It was an informative and cordial discussion, and the point was made that my (or anyone else’s) inability or unwillingness to “properly” gender a transgender person is perceived by that person as a hateful, personal attack. In this instance, by not affirming their internal reality, I am guilty of a hateful attack on their very being. Furthermore, I am guilty of an attack on both a psychological (a mental and emotional state) and ontological (the nature of being) level.

My Catholic Identity

I identify primarily as a Catholic Christian. I hold the Catholic faith as a key part of my identity. Many do not hold this view, nor do they think it likely (or possible) for my view (which is an integral part of my identity) to be true. Should I understand their refusal to accept my beliefs on the universe, denying the reality of my identity, as hatred? Christians have suffered (and still suffer) literal persecution for their faith. Why would non-Christians continue to contribute to their pain by denying their identity?

If denying the reality of one’s identity is hateful, where do non-Catholics stand in relation to me and other Catholic Christians? Does the fact that Christians (especially Catholic Christians) currently stand as the most persecuted religion in the world add credence to the claim that denial of one’s personal religious identity adds insult to injury?

Disagreement, Not Hate

Moreover, I do not deny anyone’s “reality.” I believe certain things are impossible, like someone can change their gender. My belief is an idea and is not hateful, just as an atheist’s view that denies the “reality” of the claims of my Catholicism (which is part of my identity) is not hateful. It is disagreement.

My View on the Possibility of True Gender Transition

Those who believe they exist in the wrong body biologically are in error because they believe something impossible—a belief that does not correspond to reality. In this regard, such a belief is a delusion. The delusion comes with thinking one can change gender. One can change the “exterior” to appear like the other sex, but the sex goes down to the cellular level. If anyone finds my DNA 30,000 years from now, they will identify me as male. Therefore, a true gender transition is impossible.

Outliers do exist, but these are genetic abnormalities. They are not normative and therefore are treated as such. I would place trans persons with neurological scans that align with the opposite sex in this category. If biological factors show up in brain scans, then biological explanations are required. Transgenderism typically does not rely on biology for validation, therefore the neurological scans do not apply to transgenderism.

Disagreement Redux

As a Catholic Christian, I cannot endorse beliefs that go against reality as I know and understand it. To do so would be to endorse a lie and I cannot bear false witness (Exodus 20:16). I understand that people have different beliefs and “lived experiences,” just as I do. My understanding does not mean I agree, or even think it possible, that such beliefs or experiences are real. The denial that such beliefs are real or possible is not hateful. Likewise, a non-Catholic that denies the possibility or reality of my belief is also not hateful. They just plain do not see it, and that is fine by me. My Catholic Christian identity remains intact, regardless of what others think or believe.

Disagreement does not equate to hate.

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