Many trans and gender expansive people have left the spiritual traditions they grew up in because they were rejected by them. And many have no interest in spiritual community at all - sometimes it's because of the way they were harmed in the spiritual communities they inhabited, and sometimes it's just something not of particular interest.

But some of us really crave spiritual community of some sort, and want to find a safe place to practice whatever our spiritual tradition is. It can be a challenge to find gender-affirming places to worship and/or practice.

Luckily, in almost every tradition, there are places you can go and be at home in community. It's much easier if you live in a large metropolitan area, and harder if you live in rural areas, although these days, because of COVID-19, so much is accessible online. Obviously, the more theologically traditional a specific spiritual or religious tradition is, the less likely it is to be gender-affirming.

Each spiritual community is different, and may or may not have had an experience of a trans community member. It's important to do some research - read their website, get a feel for what they say about the LGBTQ community. Then, feel it out - attend a few times, ask questions, and see how people respond, and see how you feel about those responses. And, of course, your experience might differ depending on how much you want to come out to people about being trans.

It is possible to find gender-affirming spiritual community that can be a real home for you - lots of trans and gender-expansive people have.