“Budwey comprehensively and authoritatively orients readers to recent developments in legal and theological accounts of diverse sex. Intersex people’s voices are always centred. The analysis of intersex’s liturgical erasure is a particularly powerful challenge to Christian communities.” Susannah Cornwall, Professor of Constructive Theologies, University of Exeter, UK “Budwey demonstrates the importance of intersex people and the detriment of their erasure through ethnographic research, bringing to life the polyvocality of intersex Christians that creates conditions for a tangible move beyond the gender binary to(ward) the materiality of polymorphism. This research estab­ lishes a theology of liturgy of the everyday, encouraging the deepest, most radical flourishing for intersex people and their freedom to participate fully in the work of the people; a literal liturgical expression of sexual difference.” Robyn Henderson-Espinoza, Visiting Professor, Duke Divinity School, Durham, NC “In this terrific resource Budwey’s ethnographic research allows many who are polymorphic to ‘speak’ about how they are traumatized, mutilated, excluded and erased by sexual and gender dimorphism. Their voices inform con­ temporary efforts to establish a more inclusive sexual paradigm for biblical interpretation, Christian ethics, pastoral care and worship.” Patricia Beattie Jung, Professor of Christian Ethics, Retired Saint Paul School of Theology Religion and Intersex This book considers the situation of intersex people who have faced erasure in the areas of science, law, culture, and theology due to the assumption that all humans are either ‘female’ or ‘male.’ Centered in interviews conducted with German intersex Christians, this book argues that moving from a paradigm of sexual dimorphism to sexual polymorph­ ism will help promote the full humanity and flourishing of intersex people by creating a world where intersex individuals are no longer coerced and/or forced to undergo non-consensual, medically unnecessary treatment, no longer experience human rights violations because of their lack of legal protection, no longer feel inhuman and Other due to epistemic injustice that stems from socio-cultural norms and stereotypes, are no longer told they are not made in God’s image as a result of a sexually dimorphic understanding of Genesis 1:27, and no longer feel excluded and invisible in worship services that do not recognize them. This combination of the practical and the spiritual allows for a reconsideration of the medical treatment and pastoral care that should be available to intersex people. This book will be helpful to those in the disciplines of science, law, culture, and theology, particularly those in gender and theological studies and those already in and studying for lay and ordained ministry. Stephanie A. Budwey is the Luce Dean’s Faculty Fellow Assistant Professor of the History and Practice of Christian Worship and the Arts at Vanderbilt Divinity School, USA. She is the author of Sing of Mary: Giving Voice to Marian Theology and Devotion (2014) and co-editor of In Spirit and Truth: A Vision of Episcopal Worship (2020). Routledge New Critical Thinking in Religion, Theology and Biblical Studies The Routledge New Critical Thinking in Religion, Theology and Biblical Studies series brings high quality research monograph publishing back into focus for authors, international libraries, and student, academic and research readers. This open-ended monograph series presents cutting-edge research from both established and new authors in the field. With specialist focus yet clear contextual presentation of contemporary research, books in the series take research into important new directions and open the field to new critical debate within the discipline, in areas of related study, and in key areas for contemporary society. Augustine and Contemporary Social Issues Edited by Paul L. Allen God After the Church Lost Control Sociological Analysis and Critical-Constructive Theology Jan-Olav Henriksen and Pål Repstad Religion and Intersex Perspectives from Science, Law, Culture, and Theology Stephanie A. Budwey Exploring Theological Paradoxes Cyril Orji African Churches Ministering ‘to and with’ Persons with Disabilities Perspectives from Zimbabwe Nomatter Sande The Fathers on the Bible Edited by Nicu Dumitraşcu For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.routledge. com/religion/series/RCRITREL Religion and Intersex Perspectives from Science, Law, Culture, and Theology Stephanie A. Budwey First published 2023 by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 Stephanie A. Budwey The right of Stephanie A. Budwey to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record has been requested for this book ISBN: 978-0-367-02957-9 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-032-27192-7 (pbk) ISBN: 978-0-429-01976-0 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9780429019760 Typeset in Sabon by Taylor & Francis Books This book is dedicated to my incredibly courageous interview partners. Tausend Dank für alles. Contents List of figures x Acknowledgements xi Introduction: “I Don’t Understand How We Christians Allow This To Happen” 1 1 “The Knife of the Norm”: Intersex from Scientific Perspectives 15 2 “If You’re Not Written Specifically into the Law, You Are Specifically Excluded from the Law”: Intersex from Legal Perspectives 51 3 “I Am Not Other, I Am Different. But Just like You”: Intersex from Cultural Perspectives 89 4 “God Created Us, All of Us, in All of Our Differences and Beautiful Uniqueness”: Intersex from Theological Perspectives 127 5 “The Liturgy Is the Expression of All the People of God, and All Those People Need to Have Their Voices Heard”: Intersex from Liturgical Perspectives 168 Index 215