Thread by @RoisinMichaux

Here's @ColetteColfer who will demonstrate how gender ideology is like a religion. "Gender identity is real for people whether it exists or not." 1/#GenspectBiggerPicture

She talks about an article that she pitched to the Irish Times and it was accepted - but mysteriously never got published. She read a book by a man called A James Gregor on political religions in the 20th century - which are secular but have religious characteristics. 2/

Gregor says if claims are falsiifed, it won't lead to abandonment of the claims among adherents. Colfer lists all parallels between religions and trans ideology and all the main boxes are ticked. 3/ #GenspectBiggerPicture

About how to define a "religion": @ColetteColfer says lots of things are called a religion (including New Zealand rugby, or human rights).

It usually has these things:
/// Sense of community (eg people linked through lobby groups (NGOs, for example) 4/

///Prophets (giving outreach DEI sermons) 4/Symbols: flags imbued with meaning, require respect
///Totem: invisible "gender identity" - you can't experience it corporeally 5/ #GenspectBiggerPicture

///Sacred dates: special days, like #TDOV - mentions @joeliveline daring to talk about gender identity DURING PRIDE MONTH! (cc @TheBARPod) 5////Conversion: name change
///Prayer: pronoun rituals
///Moral infraction: not going along with it 6/

///Sacred texts: Yogyakarta Principles.

Gets into Terasem (@terasemian) and Martine Rothblatt's book "From transgender to transhuman" - @ColetteColfer mentions @bjportraits "techno-religious cult" description. 7/ #GenspectBiggerPicture

Everything is in there: getting rid of sex markers in birth certs/other documents. A lot of what was written in that book has been realised, says @ColetteColfer. There's something missing from gender ideology, however, that is common in religions: humility. Everyone laughs. 8/