Faith, Gender, and the Work of Widening Freedom

Women’s History Month is here. It is a time when we honor the courage and leadership of women who have shaped our movements, our churches, and our communities. Yet as we celebrate the progress women have made, we also face a sobering reality. Across the country, women are facing an intensifying wave of legislative attacks that question their identities, restrict access, and limit participation in public life.  

In the past several years, lawmakers in multiple states have advanced a record number of bills that directly affect the rights and livelihoods of transgender people, including trans-identified women. Some laws invalidate updated gender markers on driver’s licenses and birth certificates. Other proposals, such as “bathroom bills” and restrictions on gender-affirming care, limit access despite overwhelming medical consensus on the importance of affirming care. Collectively, these efforts create barriers to basic services and healthcare and can lead to discrimination and violence. The broad wave of anti-trans bills introduced nationwide marks an increase in legislative strategies that undermine gender identity recognition and the dignity and welfare of transgender people.  

The current wave of legislation is not an isolated moment. Throughout history, women who have challenged systemic inequity have faced backlash. From women who sought the right to vote, to those who refused to conform to prescribed, and often subordinate, roles in church and family, resistance has often followed expansion.  

Efforts to narrowly define who counts as a “real” woman, and who does not, have long been used to preserve systems of control, as power generates the logic needed to sustain itself. Trans-identified women, whose lives make visible the rich tapestry of gender, now find themselves at the center of this familiar pattern. The targeting of trans-identified women is not a departure from the history of policing women’s bodies and identities; it is part of that history.  

The United Church of Christ (UCC) has a history of expanding the circle when others have sought to put up barriers. From early support for women’s ordination to public advocacy for LGBTQ+ inclusion, the UCC has often chosen to speak truth to power. Our General Synod resolutions have affirmed the full humanity of all people, including the transgender community, calling for protections against discrimination and urging congregations to become spaces of radical welcome. 

This witness grew from a belief that every person is created in the image of God and worthy of safety and belonging. Expanding the circle has never been about erasing difference, it has been about recognizing the Divine’s image in lives that the world tries to diminish. In this moment, that legacy calls us forward.  

When policies seek to narrow who “counts,” they do more than regulate bodies, they challenge the theological truth that the image of the Divine is reflected in the full diversity of human experience. We are called, in this moment, to defend that dignity when it is contested.  

Faith is a “do” word, not merely a private conviction. If Women’s History Month calls us to honor those who expanded freedom, then it also calls us to defend it. That means doing what we can: supporting policies that protect transgender people from discrimination and ensuring our congregations and spiritual communities are places of safety and affirmation. One step you can take to make a difference is to write to your congressional representatives in support of the Equality Act. This legislation would offer federal protection from discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. 

Women’s History Month is not only about remembering the women who widened the path before us. It is about ensuring that the path remains wide enough for those traversing it now. In collectively supporting trans-identified women, we continue the long and faithful work of expanding freedom.  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Schmian Evans is the Minister for Women and Gender Justice for the National Ministries of the United Church of Christ.