Rekis (2023) observes that “religious citizens may think it a matter of faith and integrity to not sever their public and private selves on political issues”. Having been raised Catholic, I understand how this may be the case when defining an omniscient god as a source of absolute morality. Experiences from my birth country which I attribute to this worldview still fill me with anxiety. I grew in Poland, a country with an overwhelming Catholic majority and a huge impact of the Catholic church on politics, in a religious Catholic family, while having queer friends, and realising as an adult that I’m queer myself. As an adolescent woman, I remember the anger and fear that I felt when it was acceptable and normalised that in educational environments to deny my reproductive rights; to spread discrimination, and sometimes even hate against my queer friends; to spread a view of supremacy over atheists or other religions; finally, to hear Islamophobia lined with racism spread in mainstream Catholic communities. In an intersectional context, it seems that whether it’s radical faith or radical secularism as also pointed out by Rekis (2023) the mainstream group seems entitled to make decisions about women’s bodies – whether it’s reproductive rights (which can also concern trans and non-binary people, often facing further discrimination), policing of clothing, profiling, or pre-defined social roles.

Just as faith or religion can be an identity-defining characteristic, I embraced separation first from religion, and then from religious faith, as a core part of my identity. I lay my faith now in respecting diversity, in standing up for my friends, and trying to do my part in creating communities of care and kindness to humans and more-than-humans.

There is a fine line between the freedom of religious expression and allowing or even encouraging repeated unwanted behaviour towards others. I know my fears of religious expression without boundaries are shared by many queer and trans friends who grew up in certain religious communities.

I sometimes envy the religious parts of my friends’ cultures and how they can see themselves represented and cherished. One of my friends is a queer Indian woman. When talking about queerness in her culture, she mentions that despite the impact of British colonialism and the imported religion that contributed to the exclusion of formerly traditionally embraced queer and trans people in Hindu beliefs, she enjoys their representation amongst amongst Hindu deities. I’ve heard similar positive things about the beliefs of many cultures of Indigenous Americans and the Pacific peoples, similarly shunned by colonisation.

When I see strong expressions of religious identities, including in class, I still feel anxious if the expression is Christian. I watch myself closely to not let the students notice. I know this experience is not universal. I’m well aware of the different context here in London, and do not suspect my students or colleagues of any intrusive intentions. As Asif Sadiq notes in their talk, in the context of faith, DEI is contextual and hyperlocal, and thus should not be discussed in a single cultural context (2023). I’m aware that UAL is far from perfect, but I am glad that so far each time I’ve seen expressions of religion in the classroom, my students have been seemingly supporting each other (such as: acknowledging each other’s excitement for religious community, inviting each other to prayer, or sharing supportive words during Ramadan) and openly discussing their practices and faith. If there is anything I would like to bring to the classroom or learn from my students and friends in the context of faith, it would be mutual support and celebrating diversity, including the queer and trans representation and joy not present in the religious environment I was raised in.

References

Rekis, J. (2023). “Religious Identity and Epistemic Injustice: An Intersectional Account”. In: Hypatia, vol. 38, pp. 779–800. Available at: doi:10.1017/hyp.2023.86 (accessed: 03.05.2025).

Sadiq, A. (2023). Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Learning how to get it right. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR4wz1b54hw (accessed: 03.05.2025).