The efforts don’t stop at the state level, but include local ordinances and school system policies. Starting in 2015 and continuing to this day, there have been numerous bills and referendums at the state level offered for consideration, passed by state legislatures and some even signed into law by governors. At the forefront of this push, in large part, are evangelical and fundamentalist churches, and leaders within these movements. Since this issue, there have been and there are presently ongoing actions at various levels of government that seek to deny transgender people civil rights.

Just as I Am in Sojourners Magazine (June, 2017).The Jcover story of Time magazine proclaimed, “The Transgender Tipping Point” with a photo of actor Laverne Cox, a prominent, successful transgender woman. Nonbinary Gender and the Diverse Beauty of Creation in The Christian Century Vol. Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians (Westminster John Knox Press, 2018). Reconciling Scripture for Lutherans - On Sexuality and Gender Identity (ReconcilingWorks, 2019), co-authored with Emmy Kegler. Runaway Bunny Love in The Deconstructionists Playbook (Bemba Press, 2021). As a transgender person of faith, Austen's greatest passion is helping other trans and gender-expansive people see themselves in scripture.Īffirming Resources for LGBTQ+ Individuals Exploring Faith and Religious Identities: An Annotated Bibliography in Violence Against LGBTQ+ Persons: Research, Practice, and Advocacy (Springer, 2020).Ĭhildren of Abraham and Sarah: A Litany to Celebrate Those Whose Names Have Changed in Rally: Communal Prayers for Lovers of Jesus and Justice (Fresh Air Books, 2020). Austen has published work in several anthologies including Violence Against LGBTQ+ Persons: Research, Practice, and Advocacy (Springer, 2020) and Rally: Communal Prayers for Lovers of Jesus and Justice (Fresh Air Books, 2020), and was chosen as a 2019 Bush Foundation Fellow. From 2015 to 2018 he created one hundred videos for the Transgender and Christian YouTube series, which sought to share parts of the Bible that relate to gender identity and the lives of transgender individuals. Austen is a graduate of Luther Seminary’s Master of Arts program in Old Testament/Hebrew Bible Studies, and is the winner of the 2014 John Milton Prize in Old Testament Writing from the same institution. He is also the founder and Executive Director of Transmission Ministry Collective, an online community dedicated to the spiritual care, faith formation, and leadership potential of transgender and gender-expansive Christians.

Austen Hartke is the author of Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians, a book on theology and personal narratives published by Westminster John Knox Press, now in its second edition.

Austen hartke