The comparison of gender ideology to a Gnostic religious belief hinges on framing it as a worldview with metaphysical claims about identity, reality, and liberation. Here are five examples illustrating this perspective:
- Dualism of Body and Soul: Gnosticism often posits a split between the material body (flawed) and the spiritual soul (true self). Gender ideology can be seen as analogous when it suggests a person’s true gender identity resides in their internal sense of self, distinct from or in conflict with their physical body, which may be viewed as an obstacle to authenticity.
- Secret Knowledge of the Self: Gnosticism emphasizes esoteric knowledge (gnosis) as the path to salvation. Gender ideology sometimes frames self-discovery of one’s gender identity as a profound, personal truth that transcends societal norms or biological reality, accessible only through introspection or affirmation by others.
- Rejection of Material Reality: In Gnostic thought, the material world is illusory or corrupt. Critics argue gender ideology parallels this by prioritizing subjective feelings over objective biological markers (e.g., chromosomes, anatomy), treating physical sex as malleable or irrelevant to one’s true identity.
- Liberation Through Transformation: Gnosticism often seeks liberation from the material world through spiritual awakening. Gender ideology can be interpreted as promoting liberation from societal or biological constraints via social transition, medical interventions, or redefinition of language and norms to align with one’s identity.
- Moral Hierarchy of Believers: Gnostic communities sometimes distinguished between those enlightened by gnosis and outsiders. Gender ideology can create a similar dynamic, where those who affirm certain beliefs about gender are seen as morally superior, while dissenters are labeled as ignorant or harmful, fostering an in-group/out-group divide.
Gender ideology’s proponents might argue it’s grounded in psychological, social, or medical realities rather than metaphysical claims. Still, the Gnostic lens highlights perceived similarities in structure and worldview.
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April 22, 2025 at 10:46 am
Sumi
Gender identity is in many ways a push-back against the religious right worldview. The religious right asserts a “natural order,” with men subservient to God; women subservient to God and men; children subservient to God, men and women; and other life forms subservient to humans. It also posits a race hierarchy inversely proportional to the amount of melanin in one’s skin. These beliefs are patriarchal, identitarian and authoritarian in nature.
The religious right gained power and a hold over Republicans in the 1980s in reaction to the civil rights gains made by women and racial minorities in the 1970s. Progressives responded with their own patriarchal, identitarian and authoritarian movement that rejected the idea of a “natural order,” including the idea that sex was a natural phenomenon. Enter gender identity, the funhouse mirror of the religious right.
So it comes as no surprise to me that genderism has the features of gnostic religion, that’s how it was designed. It allows radicals to shut down criticism from the left based on the reality of sex as something “the Pope would say.” Once you tell your own people that they’re aligned with the right if they believe in the reality of sex, they do one of two things – shut up and drink the kool-aid or join the right. It’s a colossal own goal. Neither the left nor the right now has any interest in reality and both are willing to corrupt and destroy science to achieve political gains.
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