Pierre Hurteau

Trans identity, which describes gender identities different from birth-assigned sex, has become a prominent topic in public discourse. Advocacy groups push for transgender and non-binary rights focused on equity and recognition, while socially conservative opposition frames these identities as challenging traditional values and biological definitions. This resistance stems from religious or biologically deterministic views and often results in discrimination and exclusion of transgender individuals, compounded by conservative beliefs. Religious belief and value systems seek to intrude into the discussion. This essay explores the complex relationships between the world’s major religious traditions and trans identity. Religious teachings differ considerably from one tradition to another, which impacts how trans identity is perceived. In certain monotheistic religions, such as Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, sacred texts and the teachings of religious leaders have often been interpreted as supporting a binary view of gender rooted in nature. This analysis will reveal that this perception has not always been dominant within these Abrahamic religions. Unlike some other religious beliefs, Hinduism and Buddhism adopt a more flexible approach to gender, recognizing a third gender distinct from male and female. However, their tolerance may be undermined by the influence of Western conceptions of sexuality and gender, which were disseminated through colonialism, even as other narratives exist. Religions often provide these opponents with arguments, particularly when it comes to linking masculinity and femininity to a form of biological determinism, even among those who are not believers. Furthermore, an examination of various religious traditions will take into account how they treat people who are ambiguous or intersex, as well as those who express a gender that does not match their anatomical sex. The essay will consider the historical evolution of religious teachings and practices, as well as their social context, reception, and, where applicable, their political influence. The religious traditions I analyze are all millennia old and draw on very ancient founding texts. It is therefore important to exercise the utmost caution so as not to superimpose contemporary discursive categories of trans identity on descriptions of ambiguous-sex individuals dating back several centuries. However, the history of religious ideas offers transgender people the opportunity to identify with a transgender past, which can be a liberating experience for them. The Introduction will place the reader at the heart of the contemporary debate on gender identity and trans identity, exploring the various perspectives and the contextualist approach that this book emphasizes. This method will lead to the conclusion that claims of a naturally fixed identity are not static and that, over the centuries, there have been significant shifts and breaking points. In the following order, the analysis will focus on Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Ultimately, it becomes clear that religious discussions on gender and trans identity are varied and offer numerous angles that promote a critical view of the ideas of masculinity, femininity, and cisnormativity as natural. While Abrahamic faiths are typically based on a gender binary, Buddhism and Hinduism tend to present more fluid and less rigid perspectives. Besides strict scriptural interpretations, each tradition offers perspectives that confront transphobia, frequently rooted in male dominance.

Some may consider the title outdated. It's a conscious choice, even if blasphemy no longer has the same relevance in modern societies, where religion is confined mainly to the private sphere. The study of blasphemy in various religious traditions teaches us that it is not simply a matter of uttering insults in the absence of the concerned person, namely the divine. It is a sin of the tongue, with social and even political dimensions. Secularization and the often uneasy coexistence of religions have led to an epistemic shift from blasphemy to hate speech against the adherents of a given tradition. Not insulting others because of their convictions becomes an instrument of social cohesion and bolstering political power. The correct use of speech is not just a matter of etiquette or decency but also of the moral obligation to respect the equal dignity of all human beings. As early as the Christian Middle Ages, several theologians articulated ethical principles revolving around the proper guard of the tongue. This ethics of speech immerses us in a universe that goes beyond the frontiers of blasphemy. Their insights and the classification of the sins of the tongue they present can be used to highlight the standards by which hate speech and the culture of banishment should be judged.

The endless waves of migrants that have swept across Europe and North America have led several countries to tighten border controls and tighten immigration criteria. How, moreover, can we ignore the human distress of millions of migrants fleeing war, persecution or food insecurity? How can we reconcile the compelling obligation to help strangers in need with the legitimate and essential need to build a " place to call home "? Therein lies the paradox of hospitality. This book examines how the religious canon, particularly the Golden Rule - "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" - deals with the tension created by the two polarities of the hospitality paradox. The Quebec model of interculturalism is presented as satisfying the dual requirements of hospitality: equal respect for the host's " homeland " and the guest's alterity.

Education, gender, family or professional responsibilities, and the abrupt nature of certain lived experiences, often push people to conceal their emotions. Suppression represents a self-preservation or survival strategy. In some cases, inhibition goes as far as completely blocking the bodily expression of emotion. Over the centuries, many philosophers and wise thinkers have seen emotion as an affliction of the inner soul, troubled by excessive and irrational proclivities that lead it to wander off the path of the good life. The remedies are manifold but tend to a culture of the self that exalts impassibility and perfect peace of mind. Yet emotion is what motivates us and gears us up for action. It enables us to connect with and adapt to the outside world. Inspired by a holistic vision of cognition, this book invites the reader to explore, through philosophical texts, a cultivation of the self that neither minimizes nor negates emotion.

The display of religious symbols in public spaces has been controversial in Europe for the past twenty years. The debate moved to Quebec some ten years ago. At the heart of the controversy, the hijab or headscarf has stirred passions that have led to heated social tensions. For some people, it is a vehicle for expressing their faith; for others, it symbolizes the oppression of women and is often associated with fundamentalism and the rise of a more radical Islam that fights against Western democratic values. Is secularism the solution to these issues?