Christian Media Scoffs at Church of England for Having “No Official Definition” of Woman

“Define woman” — a transphobic gotcha

What is a woman?

Ian M. Giatti, Christian Post Reporter, writes that the Church of England (CofE) gave “a written response to a member from the General Synod, the denomination’s legislative body, asking the question, ‘What is the Church of England’s definition of a woman?’” In this response, the CofE “said it could no longer provide an ‘official definition’ of a woman.”

Steve Warren, writing for the Christian Broadcasting Network, reports that “Adam Kendry, a lay member of the General Synod, the church’s legislative body, and a representative of the Royal Navy, asked: ‘What is the Church of England’s definition of a woman?’”

Warren goes as far as to quote Maya Forstater, an infamous transphobe who has been in the news lately fighting for her right to be bigoted against trans people:

“When the Government redefined women through the Gender Recognition Act, the Church of England could have stuck with its long-established understanding, which makes sense whether your starting point is biology or the Bible.”

“It is shocking that they so readily gave up the definition of man or woman for the state to amend, as if this fundamental truth did not matter.”

There has been a trend lately of asking people and organizations to “define woman.” This is a transphobic gotcha. Conservative blogger Matt Walsh even made a documentary on the subject.

The idea seems to be that the definition of “woman” is so evident that they should ridicule those who cannot or will not give this definition. Of course, the only definition they will accept is one that does not include trans women.

It seems to me that the member who asked the CofE to “define woman” was likely following this trend, and not asking in good faith.

Giatti reports that “Rev. Robert Innes, the denomination’s bishop in Europe, wrote: ‘There is no official definition, which reflects the fact that until fairly recently definitions of this kind were thought to be self-evident, as reflected in the marriage liturgy.’”

Living in Love and Faith

The CofE is currently undertaking the “Living in Love and Faith” project to determine “a way forward for the Church of England in relation to matters of identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage,” according to its website.

Giatti states that “the Diocese of London did not reply to The Christian Post’s request for comment by press time.” It sounds like the CP also asked the Church this transphobic gotcha question, and the CofE refused to take the bait. Good for them.

Giatti then goes into a summary of women trailblazers in the history of the CofE, and quotes “the recently retired Rev. Angela Berners-Wilson, the first woman ordained by the church as a priest in 1994” as saying she is “not totally happy with” the Church’s announcement that they have no official definition of woman.

“I mean, I do think certain things like men can’t have babies just to say the complete obvious thing. But I think we need to be very sensitive and maybe we need to reexamine our boundaries.” — Rev. Angela Berners-Wilson

Giatti ends with the sentence “in 2019, the church saw thousands of its clergy object to a newly-introduced baptism service for transgender members.”

While he never clearly says it, Giatti certainly implies that he thinks the CofE is wrong. And, the Christian Post has a history of anti-LGBTQ+ articles, so the snark I detect under the surface here is no surprise.

Warren’s scorn is much more overt: he claims that the CofE appears to be “endors[ing] the aggressive LGBTQ agenda on sexual morality rather than the teachings of the Bible.” He is clearly one of those conservative Christians who believes that the Bible is “clear” on this issue (it’s not) and that his interpretation is the only correct one, ignoring multiple Bible scholars and theologians who disagree.

Love Wins

I find it ultimately hopeful that, while people like Giatti and Warren continue to kick and scream, churches like the CofE keep moving forward on full LGBTQ+ inclusion. While it may seem at times that the wave of hatred is a tsunami set to wash us all away, I believe that love will win.

Sometime in the future, LGBTQ+ Christians will look back on this time with sadness and with gratitude. Those who continue to follow Jesus and love without conditions or restraint will prevail.

Esther learned to read when she was four years old, and began writing shortly thereafter. She is a queer Christian poet, crafting with words to create art and music.

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