Precarious recognition of gender diversity. Socio-ethical perspectives on law and the church

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Marianne Heimbach-Steins
• Subject Area: Roman Catholic Theology
• Term: since 2026
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 576475917

Our project examines the effects of the Federal Constitutional Court's decision on the so-called “third gender” of October 2017 (1 BvR 2019/16) and the subsequent changes in the legal situation regarding the status of people with diverse gender identities from a Christian socio-ethical perspective. It examines the current political and social debate under the guiding question of what new social conflicts legal recognition produces and how theological ethics can contribute to dealing with these conflicts. As a critical reflective authority, it pays particular attention to the Catholic Church, insofar as it is involved as a social actor in the recognition conflicts surrounding the third gender. The legal changes (up to the Self-Determination Act 2024) are explicitly not seen as the end point of (successful or failed) recognition, but as the starting point for necessary reflection on ongoing and newly initiated social processes. The legal changes give rise to new ideological conflicts that cannot be resolved by the legal system and which also affect the Church's self-image as a social actor. We will examine how the Catholic Church, in view of its ethical and metaphysical tradition, which is based on the binarity and complementarity of the sexes, can deal with the changes, further develop its anthropology and participate in social dialog, and how it can have a constructive influence on the ongoing process of social recognition. We are particularly interested in how the corresponding recognition conflicts within the church are resolved. These recognition conflicts are analysed on the basis of Judith Butler's theory of precarious recognition; recognition can thus be conceptualized as an open process without a fixed telos of successful recognition. The underlying ideological differences regarding the concept of gender are analyzed with the help of Ludwik Fleck's and Karl Mannheim's thinking style analysis.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants