As a cisgender woman, I enjoy some privilege that some of my siblings do not.
My name is Sarah, and my pronouns are she/her/hers. I'm in my late 40's and my pronouns have always been she/her/hers.
First of all, what the shooter in Nashville did was horrendous. Whatever reasons will come to light in the coming days, the fact is she murdered children.
Murder is never okay.
Yet I want to take a moment to talk about religious trauma and its effects on people. Certain stripes of Christianity has a long, sad history of violence towards people whom " they" deem unworthy, " demonic" or " wrong" according to their values.
In recent times, we are seeing a huge attack against our transgender siblings-- fueled by the theology of some Christians. One need look no further than my home state of Florida to see how anti-transgender laws and policies in PUBLIC, tax-supported institutions such as schools are becoming a reality.
I wonder if religious trauma might have fueled some of the Nashville shooter's anger towards her former school? Again, this theory would not excuse her behavior, but perhaps would shine a light on a big problem in this country.
Churches {and probably other religious institutions} can be cruel. To this day, I cringe when I hear The Gospel of John read and the writer says' the Jews' in what I imagine in a condescending tone. Knowing that John's otherwise beautiful message has been distorted and used to stoke the fires of antisemitism for centuries is the root of my complicated relationship with John's Gospel. As an unchurched child growing up in rural Appalachia with a Jewish mother, I've heard some cruel comments directed at me and my interfaith family. The haters almost always John's Gospel as the basis for their hate.
All this to say that my own experience with Christian hate makes me sensitive to how my faith{and it is a miracle that I became and am staying a Christian} has been weaponized against others.
Our transgender siblings are especially vulnerable, as the science of gender is still relatively new. Other people who identify as a part of the LGBTQ+ alphabet soup share in this vulnerability, as do Black people, immigrants, Muslims and Jews.
Religious trauma can happen when a person grows up in a faith community that will not accept them. I've heard stories from people who share how their churches rejected them for being _______. { Fill in the blank}and it saddens me. On a personal note, I know what its like when the established religion of your rural Appalachian culture marginalizes my entire family for being interfaith.
Again, Christians can be cruel. Lately we've been especially cruel to transgender Americans.
Violence is never the answer, and we DO need to reform laws concerning firearms. At the same time, we Christians need to take an honest look at ourselves and how the Way of Love, which was founded by one traveling Jewish rabbi so long ago has traumatized others in His name.
Amen.
Sarah Beth McCarren
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