Ever since MIT launched its new Divinity School the 31 chaplains employed by the Office of Religious, Spiritual, and Ethical Life (ORSEL) have had their hands full filling the calendar with diverse and inclusive holy days.
The Indigenous Spirit program reminds us that we are all squatting on stolen land. Its annual National Day of Mourning (NDOM) rally and march to Plymouth Rock decries the arrival of the first settler colonialists and the heinous holiday of Thanksgiving, second in perfidy only to the nakba formerly known as Columbus Day.
MIT’s Smudging Policy guiding the use of burnt offerings recognizes that many cultures have time-honored traditions and ceremonies involving the burning of herbs and botanicals, incense, bulls, and sacrifices to Moloch.
The highest of all holy days on the ORSEL calendar is the Transgender Day of Remembrance, which will be commemorated on November 19th. And what better place than the MIT non-denominational chapel to recognize that transgenderism is very much a religion.
It has its own pantheon of gods, nuns, rituals, art, and sacred beliefs. It even has transubstantiation, in this case through body modifications that have the miraculous power to turn a man into a woman, and vice versa. The sacramental surgical procedures are no more extreme than circumcision, aside from the lifelong medical complications. And maybe a wee bit of sterility.
By sponsoring this holy day, ORSEL makes it clear that, as a religion, transgenderism cannot be questioned, criticized, or denied acceptance. This dictates mandatory use of preferred pronouns, a fatwa on deadnaming, and pee & poo inclusivity.
Repeat transgressors will be referred to the IDHR office for chastisement and penance.