"We understand our gender diversity to be a gift from God, intended to add to the rich variety of human experience and perspective; and we guard against attitudes and traditions that would use this good gift to leave members of one sex more vulnerable in relationships than members of another... All persons, regardless of age, gender, marital status, or sexual orientation, are entitled to have their human and civil rights ensured and to be protected against violence"
Harriett Jane Olson, United Methodist Women chief executive office, stated in a public announcement her stance on HB2, “In 1942 our predecessors stood against racial segregation and moved the Assembly from St. Louis, Missouri, to Columbus, Ohio, so that black and white members could stay in the same hotels. Today’s decision is a current application of the same principle, caring for all our members, paying attention to where and how we spend their Mission Giving and standing with those who are oppressed.” From the article and the quote, it can be speculated that identities play an important role in what the church finds meaningful. They stand with transgender individuals because they believe gender diversity is a gift and not a mandate.
According to Emile Durkheim in The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, "If religion has given birth to all that is essential in society, it is because the idea of society is the soul of religion." Identities are important part to the core of a person. Because identity is important to society, it is important overall religious plane as well. According to Durkheim, repeated actions of a group, bring about "impressions of joy, of interior peace, of serenity, of enthusiasm which are, for the believer, an experimental proof of his beliefs" (Durkheim 464). The United Methodist Church values identity and understands that people do too. They understand that identity has the power to bring meaning to a person.