>>> COMING UP -- AS GROWING NUMBERS OF POLITICIANS CALL FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM, TIM O'BRIEN REPORTS ON INCARCERATION IN AMERICA, WHERE MORE PEOPLE ARE IN PRISON THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD.
>>> AND WITH INCREASING ATTENTION ON THE LIVES OF TRANSGENDER PEOPLE, JUDY VALENTE LOOKS AT ONE CHURCH TRYING TO MINISTER TO THAT COMMUNITY.RETIREMENT PRODUCTS.
THAT'S WHY WE'RE YOUR RETIREMENT COMPANY.
WELCOME.
I'M HARI SREENIVASAN SITTING IN FOR BOB ABERNETHY.
IT'S GOOD TO HAVE YOU WITH US.
>>> PEOPLE OF FAITH ACROSS THE NATION TOOK PART IN ACTIVITIES TO MARK THE ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE SHOOTING DEATH OF MICHAEL BROWN BY A WHITE POLICE OFFICER.
IN FERGUSON, MISSOURI, VIOLENCE ERUPTED AT SOME DEMONSTRATIONS.
ON MONDAY, MORE THAN 50 PROTESTERS, MANY OF THEM CLERGY, WERE ARRESTED FOR CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE AFTER THEY STAGED A PEACEFUL SIT-IN AT A FEDERAL COURTHOUSE.
THEY CHANTED THE "BLACK LIVES MATTER" SLOGAN AND URGED THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO CRACK DOWN ON POLICING PRACTICES THAT DISPROPORTIONATELY TARGET RACIAL MINORITIES.
>>> IN NAGASAKI, JAPAN, PRAYERS AND REMEMBRANCES WERE HELD TO COMMEMORATE 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ATOMIC BOMBING OF THAT CITY BY THE U.S.
IN WORLD WAR II.
HUNDREDS OF CATHOLICS ATTENDED A SPECIAL MASS AT A REBUILT CHURCH THAT WAS DESTROYED IN THE BOMBING.
NEARLY 70,000 DIED IN THE 1945 ATTACK.
ANOTHER ATOMIC BOMB THAT HIT HIROSHIMA JUST THREE DAYS EARLIER KILLED AN ESTIMATED 140,000 PEOPLE.
AT THE VATICAN, POPE FRANCIS SAID THE BOMBINGS WERE "A LASTING WARNING TO HUMANITY" AND RENEWED CALLS FOR AN END TO WAR.
>>> ALSO THIS WEEK, POPE FRANCIS SAID HE WILL DESIGNATE SEPTEMBER 1ST AS THE "WORLD DAY FOR THE PRAYER FOR THE CARE OF CREATION."
WITH THIS MOVE, THE CATHOLIC CHURCH JOINS THE ORTHODOX CHURCH IN OBSERVING THE DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT.
THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES WELCOMED THE POPE'S ANNOUNCEMENT AS A SIGN OF "CHRISTIAN UNITY" AND CALLED FOR MORE CHURCHES TO JOIN IN.
>>> AN ISIS AFFILIATE IN EGYPT THIS WEEK RELEASED AN IMAGE CLAIMING TO SHOW THE BEHEADING OF A CROATIAN HOSTAGE KIDNAPPED NEAR CAIRO.
EGYPT'S TOP RELIGIOUS INSTITUTE AL-AZHAR STRONGLY CONDEMNED THE APPARENT KILLING, CALLING IT A "DEMONIC ACT."
MEANWHILE, CIVILIANS CONTINUED TO FLEE ISIS VIOLENCE IN SYRIA.
HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS SAID DOZENS OF CHRISTIANS WERE ABDUCTED.
THIS WEEK, ISIS DID RELEASE 22 ELDERLY ASSYRIAN CHRISTIANS WHO WERE AMONG MORE THAN 200 KIDNAPPED IN FEBRUARY.
WORLD FOOD PROGRAM OFFICIALS RENEWED CALLS FOR MORE DONATIONS TO HELP MILLIONS OF SYRIAN REFUGEES.
NEXT MONTH, WFP WILL BE FORCED TO ELIMINATE FOOD AID FOR ABOUT 200,000 REFUGEES IN JORDAN BECAUSE OF A LACK OF FUNDING.
>>> MEANWHILE, THE EUROPEAN UNION HAS APPROVED $2.6 BILLION IN AID TO COUNTRIES STRUGGLING TO DEAL WITH THE WORSENING MIGRANT CRISIS IN EUROPE.
THIS WEEK 1,700 MIGRANTS WERE RESCUED OFF THE LIBYAN COAST WHILE ATTEMPTING TO CROSS OVER TO SICILY.
THE U.N. SAYS MORE THAN 90,000 MIGRANTS HAVE ATTEMPTED TO REACH ITALY BY SEA THIS YEAR.
THE VAST MAJORITY ARE FROM AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST, WHERE VIOLENCE AND POVERTY HAVE CAUSED MANY TO FLEE.
>>> U.S. JEWISH GROUPS ARE AMONG THOSE SUPPORTING AN ISRAELI GOVERNMENT CRACKDOWN ON JEWISH EXTREMISTS AFTER A WAVE OF HATE CRIMES IN RECENT WEEKS.
THE JEWISH COUNCIL FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS, OR JCPA, SPECIFICALLY CONDEMNED COMMENTS BY ONE EXTREMIST LEADER WHO USED PASSAGES FROM THE TORAH TO JUSTIFY ARSON AGAINST CHURCHES.
IN JUNE, ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR CHRISTIAN PILGRIMAGE SITES, THE CHURCH OF THE FISHES AND LOAVES IN GALILEE, WAS SEVERELY DAMAGED BY ARSON.
THE JCPA CALLED SUCH ACTIONS "A COMPLETE PERVERSION" OF JEWISH VALUES.
>>> LAST MONTH, PRESIDENT OBAMA LAUNCHED A NEW CAMPAIGN CALLING FOR REFORM OF AMERICA'S CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.
REPUBLICANS, AS WELL AS A PEOPLE OF FAITH ACROSS THE SPECTRUM, ARE ALSO URGING CHANGES.
IT'S A JUSTICE ISSUE THAT MANY THINK IS LONG OVERDUE.
TIM O'BRIEN REPORTS THAT THE U.S. HAS MORE PEOPLE IN PRISON THAN CHINA OR RUSSIA OR ANY OTHER COUNTRY IN THE WORLD.
>> Reporter: WHILE THE CRIME RATE HAS STEADILY DECLINED IN THE UNITED STATES OVER THE LAST TWO DECADES, THE INCARCERATION RATE HAS ALL BUT EXPLODED, FROM AROUND 300,000 INMATES IN 1972 TO ROUGHLY 2.3 MILLION TODAY.
THE UNITED STATES HAS ONLY 5% OF THE WORLD'S POPULATION, BUT NEARLY 25% OF THE WORLD'S PRISONERS.
>> WE CANNOT MAINTAIN OUR CREDIBILITY, OUR LEGITIMACY AS A NATION WHEN WE HAVE THE HIGHEST RATE OF INCARCERATION IN THE WORLD.
>> Reporter: BRYAN STEVENSON RUNS THE EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE IN MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA, A PUBLIC INTEREST LAW FIRM DEVOTED TO REPRESENTING YOUTHFUL OFFENDERS AND THOSE WHO CANNOT AFFORD A LAWYER.
>> WE'VE GOT 6 MILLION PEOPLE ON PROBATION OR PAROLE IN THIS COUNTRY, 68 MILLION AMERICANS WITH CRIMINAL ARRESTS, WHICH MEANS WHEN THEY APPLY FOR A JOB THEY'RE GOING TO BE COMPROMISED, THEY'RE GOING TO BE DISADVANTAGED.
>> Reporter: HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?
WHY ARE SO MANY AMERICANS IN PRISON?
STEVEN RAPHAEL AND MICHAEL STOLL, BOTH ECONOMICS PROFESSORS, HAVE BEEN STUDYING THE ISSUE FOR MORE THAN A DECADE AND HAVE WRITTEN A BOOK ASKING THAT VERY QUESTION, AND THEY'VE COME UP WITH TWO SURPRISINGLY SIMPLE EXPLANATIONS -- MANDATORY DRUG SENTENCES, PARTICULARLY AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL AND OFTEN FOR NONVIOLENT OFFENSES, AND IN THE STATE SYSTEM LONGER PRISON TERMS FOR VIOLENT OFFENDERS.
WHATEVER THE REASON, AND THERE ARE OTHERS, THE AUTHORS INSIST THE TREND TOWARD MASS INCARCERATION HAS NOT BEEN COST EFFECTIVE.
>> INSTEAD OF SPENDING SO MUCH MONEY ON INCARCERATING VERY OLD INMATES, WE COULD ALSO USE THAT MONEY TO HIRE MORE POLICE, WE CAN USE THAT MONEY TO HAVE ANTI-VIOLENCE INTERVENTIONS FOR YOUTH, AND WE CAN BE MORE PROACTIVE ABOUT HAVING A SOCIETY THAT IS LESS VIOLENT AND GENERATES MORE PRODUCTIVE CITIZENS.
>> Reporter: THE COST OF KEEPING A SINGLE INMATE IN PRISON VARIES WIDELY, FROM ALMOST $15,000 A YEAR IN KENTUCKY TO MORE THAN FOUR TIMES THAT IN NEW YORK STATE.
OVERALL, WE NOW SPEND ROUGHLY $80 BILLION A YEAR IN THE US ON JAILS AND PRISONS, COMPARED WITH ONLY $6 BILLION IN 1972, A 13-FOLD INCREASE.
TRUE OR FALSE -- OUR STREETS, OUR NEIGHBORHOODS ARE SAFER TODAY BECAUSE MORE CRIMINALS ARE IN PRISON.
>> WELL, I WOULD SAY THAT WE HAVE LESS CRIME WITH MORE PEOPLE IN PRISON.
THAT'S TRUE, ON AVERAGE.
BUT WHEN THE INCARCERATION RATE GETS VERY, VERY HIGH, WE START LOCKING PEOPLE UP THAT PROBABLY WOULD NOT BE COMMITTING A WHOLE LOT OF CRIME IF THEY WERE ON THE STREET.
>> Reporter: STILL, WHEN SOMEONE COMMITS A HORRIBLE CRIME, THE VICTIMS, THEIR LOVED ONES, AND MANY OTHERS WANT "JUSTICE," THAT IS, RETRIBUTION, AND TO SOME THAT MEANS SENDING THE OFFENDERS AWAY FOR A LONG TIME REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THEY MIGHT EVER DO IT AGAIN.
>> YOU KNOW, IF SOMEBODY TAKES AN EYE, YOU CAN'T JUST BE LIKE, "OH, SLAP ON THE WRIST."
YOU CAN'T.
>> Reporter: GETTING TOUGH ON CRIME HAS TAKEN ON A LIFE OF ITS OWN.
>> ONCE YOU ENACT TOUGHER CRIME LEGISLATION, IT'S VERY HARD TO GET SOFT ON CRIME.
PEOPLE CAMPAIGN ON GETTING TOUGH ON CRIME, OPPONENTS COULD MATCH THE INTENSITY OF THAT BY SAYING THEY'RE JUST AS TOUGH AT GETTING ON CRIME, AND VIRTUALLY NO ONE, AT LEAST UP UNTIL NOW, GETS ELECTED BY SAYING THEY'RE GOING TO REDUCE SENTENCING AND GET SOFT ON CRIME.
>> Reporter: JUST ASK MICHAEL DUKAKIS, WHOSE SUPPORT FOR A PRISON FURLOUGH PROGRAM WHILE GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS MAY HAVE COST HIM THE 1988 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.
THE IMPETUS FOR MANDATORY DRUG SENTENCES AND LONG PRISON TERMS MAY HAVE BEEN THE SOARING CRIME RATES FROM 1960S THROUGH THE LATE 1980S.
THERE'S A GROWING BODY OF EVIDENCE, HOWEVER, THAT THOSE REMEDIES IN SOME RESPECTS WERE NOT ONLY UNFAIR, THEY WERE RACIALLY DISCRIMINATORY.
AND THERE CAN BE NO QUESTION THAT THE SO-CALLED "WAR ON DRUGS" HAS HAD A DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT ON PEOPLE OF COLOR-——HISPANICS AND AFRICAN AMERICANS.
THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF JUSTICE REPORTS THAT AFRICAN AMERICANS ARE INCARCERATED AT NEARLY SIX TIMES THE RATE OF WHITES, AND THAT IF THE TREND CONTINUES, ONE IN FOUR BLACK MALES ALIVE TODAY CAN EXPECT TO SPEND SOME TIME BEHIND BARS.
IT IS TRUE THAT THOSE IN THE LOWER SOCIOECONOMIC CLASSES ARE MORE LIKELY TO COMMIT CERTAIN CRIMES.
BUT RAPHAEL AND STOLL INSIST THAT DOES NOT EXPLAIN THE GROSS DISPARITY IN SENTENCING, NOTING THAT THE INCARCERATION OF YOUNG BLACK MEN CHARGED WITH DRUG OFFENSES HAS BEEN A KEY DRIVER OF PRISON GROWTH.
>> CRACK COCAINE POSSESSION HAD A SENTENCING LINK THAT WAS 10 TIMES AS STIFF AS THAT FOR THE POSSESSION OF POWDER COCAINE.
>> 100 TIMES AS STIFF.
>> 100 TIMES, RIGHT.
NOW IT'S BEEN REDUCED DOWN TO 12, BUT IT WAS 100 TIMES GREATER THAN IT WAS FOR POSSESSION OF POWDER COCAINE.
BLACKS TRAFFIC, DISPROPORTIONATELY, IN CRACK COCAINE RELATIVE TO POWDER COCAINE.
>> HOWEVER, THERE ARE ALSO OTHER ISSUES.
IT'S THE CASE THAT AFRICAN AMERICANS, WHEN THEY ARE CHARGED, THEY'RE LESS LIKELY TO MAKE BAIL, THEY'RE LESS LIKELY TO MAKE FINANCIAL BAIL.
PEOPLE WHO ARE HELD IN DETENTION PRE-TRIAL ARE MORE LIKELY TO PLEAD GUILTY AND ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE SENT TO PRISON.
THERE'S SOME WHO BELIEVE THERE ARE ASPECTS OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM THAT ARE UNFAIR, THAT THERE MIGHT BE DISCRIMINATORY TREATMENT BY POLICE, BY PROSECUTORS, AND BY JUDGES, AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.
>> Reporter: WE HAVE A HISTORY OF RACIAL INEQUALITY AND RACIAL INJUSTICE THAT HAS LEFT US COMPROMISED, LEFT US VULNERABLE TO PRESUMING GUILT AND DANGEROUSNESS WHEN MINORITY PEOPLE INTERACT WITH THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.
I THINK TOO MANY BLACK MEN AND BOYS ARE PRESUMED DANGEROUS AND GUILTY WHEN THEY'RE WALKING THE STREETS.
BRYAN STEVENSON HAS EARNED A REPUTATION AS ONE OF THE LEADING CIVIL RIGHTS ADVOCATES IN THE U.S. SUPREME COURT, HAVING WON LANDMARK CASES ON THE RIGHTS OF JUVENILES.
HE SAYS RACIAL BIAS IN OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM MAY NOT ALWAYS BE OBVIOUS, MAY NOT EVEN BE INTENTIONAL.
BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN IT ISN'T THERE.
>> I'M A MIDDLE-AGED LAWYER, BEEN PRACTICING LAW FOR 30 YEARS, AND EVEN I GET PRESUMED DANGEROUS AND GUILTY SOMETIMES.
I WAS IN A COURTROOM IN THE MIDWEST GETTING READY FOR A HEARING ONE DAY, AND I HAD MY SUIT ON AND MY SHIRT AND TIE, I THINK IT WAS MAYBE THIS SUIT, SITTING THERE AT THE COUNSEL TABLE, AND THE JUDGE WALKED IN AND HE SAW ME SITTING AT DEFENSE COUNSEL'S TABLE, AND HE LOOKED UP AND HE SAID, "HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY.
YOU GET OUT OF HERE.
I DON'T WANT ANY DEFENDANTS SITTING IN MY COURTROOM WITHOUT THEIR LAWYERS.
YOU GO BACK OUT THERE IN THE HALLWAY AND WAIT UNTIL YOUR LAWYER GETS HERE.
AND I STOOD UP, AND I SAID, "OH, I'M SORRY, YOUR HONOR.
I DIDN'T INTRODUCE MYSELF.
MY NAME IS BRYAN STEVENSON.
I AM THE LAWYER."
AND THE JUDGE STARTED LAUGHING, AND THE PROSECUTOR STARTED LAUGHING.
I MADE MYSELF LAUGH BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO DISADVANTAGE MY CLIENT.
AND THE CLIENT CAME IN -- A YOUNG WHITE KID WHO I WAS REPRESENTING AT THIS HEARING.
BUT AFTERWARD I WAS THINKING TO MYSELF, WHAT IS IT ABOUT THAT JUDGE THAT HE SEES A MIDDLE-AGED BLACK MAN IN A SUIT AND A TIE AT DEFENSE COUNSEL'S TABLE, AND IT DOESN'T OCCUR TO HIM THAT THAT'S THE LAWYER?
DO I THINK THAT THAT JUDGE IS GOING TO TREAT MINORITY DEFENDANTS DIFFERENTLY?
I DO.
DO I THINK THAT'S GOING TO MANIFEST ITSELF IN DISPARITIES BASED ON RACE?
I DO.
AND THAT'S NOT SOMEBODY WHO IS CONSCIOUSLY BIGOTED, THAT'S NOT SOMEBODY WHO IS PROUDLY RACIST.
THAT'S JUST SOMEBODY WHO HAS INHERITED THIS NARRATIVE OF RACIAL DIFFERENCE THAT COMPROMISES US IN ALL KINDS OF WAYS.
AND IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, YOU SEE EVIDENCE OF THAT THAT IS VERY, VERY PROBLEMATIC.
>> Reporter: IF YOU RAN THE ZOO WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
>> I WOULD CERTAINLY DO AWAY WITH MANDATORY MINIMUMS.
I WOULD STOP INCARCERATING PEOPLE FOR DRUG POSSESSION, AND I WOULD DECLARE AN END TO THIS MISGUIDED WAR ON DRUGS.
I WOULD ELIMINATE SOME OF THESE EXTREME PUNISHMENTS.
I WOULD STOP TREATING CHILDREN AS AN ADULT.
YOU KNOW WE'VE NOW GOT SOME 250,000 PEOPLE IN JAILS AND PRISONS, SERVING LONG PRISON SENTENCES FOR CRIMES THEY WERE ALLEGED TO HAVE COMMITTED WHEN THEY WERE YOUNG CHILDREN.
AND THEN I WOULD ENGAGE IN THE KIND OF SERIOUS REHABILITATIVE WORK THAT YOU SEE IN MANY COUNTRIES IN EUROPE.
>> Reporter: THE MASS INCARCERATION PHENOMENON HAS NOT ESCAPED THE ATTENTION OF THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION, WHICH HAS MOVED TO REDUCE SENTENCES FOR MINOR DRUG OFFENDERS AND MORE AGGRESSIVELY PURSUE DRUG KINGPINS AND VIOLENT OFFENDERS.
>> WE PUT SENSIBLE LIMITS ON WHEN IT WAS APPROPRIATE TO SEEK STIFFER SENTENCES BASED ON A DEFENDANT'S PRIOR CRIMINAL RECORD, AND WE TOOK STEPS TO IMPROVE REENTRY PROCESSES IN ORDER TO REDUCE THE CHANCES THAT INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS REOFFEND AFTER THEY EXIT PRISON.
>> Reporter: THE VAST MAJORITY OF PRISON INMATES ARE IN STATE PRISONS, HOWEVER, RATHER THAN FEDERAL PRISON -- ALMOST SEVEN TIMES AS MANY.
BUT SOME STATES ARE FOLLOWING THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT LEAD, LIKE TEXAS.
ACCORDING TO A REPORT BY THE COUNCIL OF STATE GOVERNMENTS JUSTICE CENTER, A CONSCIOUS EFFORT BY THE STATE TO SEND YOUNG OFFENDERS TO COUNSELING IN COMMUNITY CENTERS RATHER THAN TO JAIL OR PRISON HAS HELPED TO CUT CRIME.
>> WE FOUND THE KID WHO STAYED IN THE COMMUNITY WAS 20% LESS LIKELY TO REOFFEND THAN THE YOUTH WHO WAS RELEASED FROM THE STATE CORRECTIONAL FACILITY.
FURTHERMORE, WE FOUND THE KID WHO WAS RELEASED FROM THE STATE CORRECTIONAL FACILITY IS THREE TIMES AS LIKELY TO BE REARRESTED FOR A FELONY THAN THE YOUTH WHO WAS UNDER COMMUNITY SUPERVISION.
AND HERE'S THE MOST INTERESTING THING -- WE ALSO SAVE A WHOLE LOT OF MONEY KEEPING THAT KID CLOSER TO HOME.
>> Reporter: A BLIP ON THE RADAR?
OR ARE WE ON THE CUSP OF A NEW APPROACH TO CRIME AND PUNISHMENT?
THE OLD APPROACH -- MASS INCARCERATION WITH LENGTHY SENTENCES MAY HAVE MADE SOME AMERICANS FEEL BETTER.
IT DOES NOT APPEAR TO HAVE MADE ANYONE ANY SAFER.
FOR "RELIGION AND ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY," I'M TIM O'‘‘BRIEN IN WASHINGTON.
>>> CAITLYN JENNER'S VERY PUBLIC TRANSITION HAS GENERATED NEW ATTENTION TO THE LIVES AND NEEDS OF TRANSGENDER PEOPLE.
WHILE IT REMAINS CONTROVERSIAL, MORE AND MORE CHURCHES AND FAITH-BASED INSTITUTIONS ARE TRYING TO MINISTER TO THE TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY.
JUDY VALENTE REPORTS FROM CHICAGO ABOUT ONE CHURCH DOING JUST THAT.
>> Reporter: EVERY DAY, JORDAN BECKER LIFTS WEIGHTS AT THE GYM, HOPING TO BUILD UP HIS BICEPS AND CHEST MUSCLES.
IT'S BEEN A LONG JOURNEY FROM WHERE BECKER STARTED, PICTURED IN THIS PHOTOGRAPH AT AGE 4.
AS A LITTLE GIRL.
>> MY SISTERS AND MY MOM ALWAYS TELL ME THAT THEY HAD TO PAY ME TO WEAR DRESSES.
NOW AT THE TIME I DIDN'T KNOW THAT MEANT ANYTHING SIGNIFICANT, YOU KNOW, THAT I WANTED TO BE A MALE, BUT LOOKING BACK IN HINDSIGHT, IT STARTED VERY YOUNG.
>> Reporter: LIKE MANY TRANSGENDER INDIVIDUALS, BECKER SAYS HE FELT HE WAS BORN TRAPPED INSIDE A BODY THAT WAS, FOR HIM, THE WRONG GENDER.
>> FROM A VERY YOUNG AGE, I ALWAYS KNEW I WAS DIFFERENT.
I CAME OUT AS A LESBIAN, AND IT WAS GOOD FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS, YOU KNOW.
I FELT LIKE I REALLY BELONGED.
BUT THEN AS TIME WENT ON I JUST KIND OF NOTICED THAT SOMETHING STILL FELT -- A PART OF ME WAS MISSING.
>> Reporter: TRANSGENDER ISN'T THE SAME AS BEING HOMOSEXUAL OR MERELY CROSS-DRESSING.
IT'S A FAR MORE COMPLEX PHENOMENON KNOWN CLINICALLY AS "GENDER DYSPHORIA," A SEVERE DISCONTENT WITH ONE'S ASSIGNED SEX.
TRANSGENDER PEOPLE OFTEN TAKE HORMONES AND HAVE SURGERY TO BECOME MORE LIKE THE OPPOSITE SEX.
A LITTLE OVER A YEAR AGO, BECKER BEGAN INJECTING TESTOSTERONE.
HE HAD HIS BREASTS SURGICALLY REMOVED.
>> MY ONLY REGRET IS THROUGHOUT THIS ENTIRE PROCESS IS NOT STARTING IT SOONER.
>> I HAVE SOMETHING TO TELL YOU.
>> Reporter: EMBOLDENED BY THE NEW AMAZON ONLINE SERIES TRANSPARENT AND "ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK" ON NETFLIX, WHICH FEATURES A TRANSGENDER ACTRESS, TRANSGENDER INDIVIDUALS ARE INCREASINGLY SPEAKING OUT ABOUT THEIR NEEDS AND THEIR LIVES.
AN EPISCOPAL PRIEST RECENTLY CAME OUT AS TRANSGENDER, AND A COMMUNITY OF CARMELITE NUNS IN CANADA JUST ACCEPTED A NOVICE WITH BOTH MALE AND FEMALE PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.
THE NOVICE, TIA MICHELLE PESANDO, HAS WRITTEN A BOOK CALLED "WHY GOD DOESN'T HATE YOU."
>> EVEN IN THE PAST 14 YEARS, IT IS AN INCREDIBLE CHANGE IN THE VISIBILITY OF TRANSGENDER PEOPLE IN THE MEDIA, THE NUMBER OF TRANSGENDER ACTIVIST ORGANIZATIONS, PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING TO CHANGE THE LAW, AND THE MEDICAL SYSTEM FOR TRANS PEOPLE.
IT'S REMARKABLE.
>> Reporter: SOME STUDIES ESTIMATE ABOUT 1% OF THE U.S. POPULATION IS TRANSGENDER, BUT THERE ARE NO DEFINITIVE STATISTICS.
>> IT'S SOMETHING THAT OCCURS WITH A MUCH GREATER FREQUENCY THAN MANY OF US THINK IN THIS COUNTRY AND IN THIS WORLD.
I THINK MANY OF THESE CHILDREN AND MANY OF THESE FAMILIES LIVE IN ISOLATION, AND YOU DON'T SEE THEM.
>> Reporter: AND THERE IS LITTLE MEDICAL RESEARCH ABOUT WHAT CAUSES SOME PEOPLE TO WANT TO CHANGE THEIR SEX.
>> THAT'S THE MILLION-DOLLAR QUESTION.
PINNING IT DOWN TO LIKE, YOU KNOW, GENETICS OR HORMONES OR ENVIRONMENT HAS BEEN VERY DIFFICULT, SO THERE'S REALLY NO ANSWER AT THIS POINT.
>> Reporter: AFTER SPENDING THE PAST DECADES STRUGGLING WITH HOW TO MINISTER TO GAYS AND LESBIANS, AND WHETHER TO ORDAIN GAY CLERGY AND ALLOW SAME-SEX MARRIAGE, CHURCHES NOW FACE A NEW MORAL FRONTIER -- HOW TO RESPOND TO TRANSGENDER PEOPLE.
>> I THINK THAT IT IS SOMETHING THAT CHURCHES SHOULD LOOK AT IF THEY ARE SEEKING TO BE INTENTIONALLY WELCOMING AND HOSPITABLE PLACES FOR FOLKS WHO STAND ON THE MARGINS OF SOCIETY.
>> Reporter: REVEREND EMILY MCGINLEY IS PASTOR OF THE URBAN VILLAGE CHURCH IN THE HYDE PARK SECTION OF CHICAGO, A UNITED METHODIST CHURCH THAT MINISTERS TO A DIVERSE CONGREGATION.
McGINLEY SAYS THAT TRANSGENDER INDIVIDUALS POSE COMPLEX THEOLOGICAL QUESTIONS.
>> IF THE FIRST IS A GIVEN THAT GOD CREATES ALL, RIGHT, AND THAT GOD DOESN'T MAKE MISTAKES, THEN THE QUESTION SHOULDN'T BE "THEN WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?"
THE QUESTION SHOULD BE WHAT'S WRONG WITH US THAT WE CAN'T, THAT WE DON'T HAVE SPACE FOR FOLKS TO TRANSCEND AND EXPAND OUR UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IT CAN BE TO BE FEMALE AND WHAT IT CAN BE TO BE MALE.
>> Reporter: McGINLEY SAYS MANY PASTORS STILL CALL IT A SIN TO TRY TO CHANGE ONE'S SEX.
>> THIS DISCONNECT THAT YOU HAVE WITHIN YOURSELF IS A RESULT OF SOME KIND OF BROKENNESS EITHER THAT YOU HAVE PARTICIPATED IN OR THAT HAS BEEN INFLICTED ON YOU.
>> Reporter: HOW SHOULD CHURCHES BE RESPONDING?
>> THERE'S A LOT WE CAN LEARN FROM OUR TRANSGENDER BROTHERS AND SISTERS.
BUT I ALSO THINK THAT CHURCHES ARE VERY UNLIKELY, EN MASSE ANYWAY, TO EXPLORE THE TOPIC, BECAUSE IT'S MYSTERIOUS, AND IT THREATENS OUR IDEAS OF FIXED BOUNDARIES OF IDENTITY.
>> Reporter: CONSIDER ANDE BIGGS, WHO BEGAN LIFE AS ANDREW, A BOY.
MOST BOYS ARE BORN WITH A SINGLE X AND Y CHROMOSOME.
BIGGS WAS BORN WITH A Y CHROMOSOME AND TWO FEMALE X CHROMOSOMES, A CONDITION KNOWN AS KLINEFELTER'S SYNDROME.
AS A TEEN, BIGGS WAS ATTRACTED TO MALES AND WAS LABELED A HOMOSEXUAL.
>> I'M NOT A GAY MAN, HOWEVER I DO -- I AM INTERESTED IN MEN.
IT'S A VERY DIFFICULT THING TO EXPLAIN TO SOMEONE WHENEVER THEY SEE A BOY AND THAT BOY IS TELLING THEM, "HEY, I LIKE OTHER BOYS, BUT, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT A HOMOSEXUAL."
>> Reporter: THOUGH BIGGS, NOW 19, WAS CERTAIN FROM A YOUNG AGE SHE WAS MEANT TO BE FEMALE, SHE SAYS IT WAS A DIFFICULT DECISION TO ACTUALLY BEGIN INJECTING FEMALE HORMONES.
>> I HAD RECEIVED THE PRESCRIPTION, I HAD THE PAPER, I JUST HAD TO GO TO THE PHARMACY AND GET IT FILLED OUT.
IT TOOK ME FIVE MONTHS TO MENTALLY PREPARE MYSELF, TO KNOW THAT I AM -- I LOVE MYSELF ENOUGH TO DO THIS, LIKE THIS IS SOMETHING I'D BE DOING FOR MYSELF.
>> Reporter: LAURIE MURRAY IS BIGGS'S MOTHER.
>> SEEING HIM GO FROM HATING HIMSELF TO LOVING WHO SHE IS, TO SIT HERE AND HEAR HER SAY SHE LOVES WHAT SHE'S DOING, SHE LOVES HER LIFE -- FOR A PARENT THAT'S JUST AWESOME, BECAUSE YEARS AGO HE DIDN'T.
>> Reporter: TRANSGENDER PEOPLE EXPERIENCE HIGH RATES OF HOMELESSNESS, UNEMPLOYMENT, AND DEPRESSION, OFTEN THE RESULT OF DISCRIMINATION.
THEY ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE ARRESTED.
MORE THAN HALF OF ALL TRANSGENDER INDIVIDUALS REPORT HAVING CONSIDERED SUICIDE.
JORDAN BECKER SAYS HE SOMETIMES LAY IN BED AT NIGHT WONDERING, WHY DOES GOD HATE ME?
HE CONTEMPLATED SUICIDE TWICE BEFORE DECIDING TO BEGIN HIS MALE HORMONAL TREATMENTS.
>> I TRIED DROWNING MYSELF IN A TOILET.
THAT WAS THE LOWEST POINT OF MY LIFE.
>> Reporter: SOCIETY SEEMS TO BE MOVING MUCH FASTER.
THE SCHOOL OF THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO, WHERE A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF THE STUDENTS IDENTIFY AS GAY OR TRANSGENDER, PROVIDES GENDER-NEUTRAL BATHROOMS AND HOUSING.
ADDITIONALLY -- >> WE RECENTLY HAD A CHANGE TO OUR STUDENT HEALTH INSURANCE POLICY WHERE WE'RE NOW ABLE TO COVER HORMONE THERAPY AND GENDER REASSIGNMENT SURGERY FOR OUR STUDENTS.
>> Reporter: THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT NOW ALLOWS INDIVIDUALS TO OFFICIALLY CHANGE THEIR SEX ON SOCIAL SECURITY CARDS AND PASSPORTS, AND MANY STATES ALLOW CHANGE TO DRIVER'S LICENSES AND BIRTH CERTIFICATES.
HOWEVER THE MILITARY, WHICH NOW ACCEPTS GAYS, WILL NOT ALLOW OPENLY TRANSGENDER PEOPLE WITHIN ITS RANKS.
JORDAN BECKER SPENT SIX YEARS IN AN ARMY MILITARY POLICE UNIT BUT HAD TO LEAVE THE SERVICE LAST YEAR WHEN HE BEGAN TAKING HORMONES.
>> I CAN STILL SHOOT A WEAPON.
I CAN, YOU KNOW, STILL DRIVE A HUMVEE.
I CAN STILL PROTECT MY FRIENDS, MY SOLDIERS, SO IT'S NOT -- IT'S NOT A GOOD FEELING THAT I WAS WORKING, I WAS PROTECTING MY FREEDOM AND AMERICA'S FREEDOM AND -- BUT IN RETURN, UNDER REGULATIONS, I WAS NOT ACCEPTED.
>> Reporter: DR. GAROFALO OF LURIE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL SAYS HE'S RECEIVED HATE MAIL FROM RELIGIOUS GROUPS FOR TREATING TRANSGENDER YOUTH.
HE RECALLS ONE OF THE FIRST TEENS HE TREATED.
>> A 15-YEAR-OLD TRANSGENDER GIRL BORN A BOY, AND THEY WANTED ME TO GIVE ESTROGEN TO -- AND I WAS, LIKE, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
LIKE NO WAY.
IS IT ETHICAL TO DO THAT?
I DIDN'T GET ANY TRAINING IN MEDICAL SCHOOL ABOUT THIS.
I HAD NO IDEA.
THIS WAS TOTALLY NEW.
AND THEN I GOT TO KNOW HER, AND I SPENT TIME WITH HER, AND REALLY OVER THE COURSE OF MONTHS MY ENTIRE MINDSET CHANGED FROM, LIKE, IS IT REALLY ETHICAL TO GIVE THIS GIRL HORMONES TO, LIKE, WOULD IT REALLY BE ETHICAL TO NOT?
>> Reporter: REVEREND McGINLEY SAYS IT'S A TOUGH ISSUE FOR CHURCHES, BECAUSE IT FORCES US TO REASSESS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A PERSON -- SOMETHING TRANSGENDER PEOPLE INSIST GOES BEYOND GENDER AND ANATOMY.
>> GENDER IS A VERY FLUID IDEA.
THERE IS MORE THAN JUST A BINARY MALE-FEMALE.
THERE IS -- IT'S A SPECTRUM.
GENDER IS A SPECTRUM.
>> I FEEL LIKE BEING A TRANSGENDER PERSON IS A GIFT I WAS GIVEN.
IT'S SOMETHING I CONSIDER VERY SACRED.
IT'S ALLOWED ME TO SEE THE WORLD IN VERY DIFFERENT WAYS.
>> WHY WASTE YOUR TIME JUDGING ME?
I'M A NORMAL PERSON.
IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT'S IN MY PANTS OR UNDER MY SHIRT.
>> Reporter: LIKE JORDAN BECKER, MANY TRANSGENDER PEOPLE LIVE WITH HOPE.
BECKER SAYS AN INSIGHT CAME TO HIM ONE DAY, LIKE A LIGHT BULB TURNING ON, THAT GOD DOESN'T HATE HIM BUT HAS CREATED HIM FOR A SPECIAL PURPOSE.
FOR "RELIGION AND ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY," I'M JUDY VALENTE.
>>> ON OUR CALENDAR THIS WEEK, HINDUS CELEBRATE SHIVARATRI, THE ANNUAL FESTIVAL THAT HONORS SHIVA, ONE OF THE HINDU RELIGION'S CHIEF DEITIES.
AND, JAPANESE BUDDHISTS AND SHINTOS CELEBRATE OBON, OR THE FESTIVAL OF THE DEAD.
OBON IS A TIME OF PAYING TRIBUTE TO ANCESTORS AND VISITING FAMILY GRAVESITES.
>>> FINALLY, THOSE HEADED TO PHILADELPHIA FOR POPE FRANCIS' VISIT IN SEPTEMBER MAY BE HAVING TROUBLE FINDING A HOTEL.
WELL, THE BATTLESHIP NEW JERSEY, WHICH IS DOCKED ACROSS THE RIVER, IS OFFERING A POPE SPECIAL -- SAILOR'S BUNKS FOR $75 PER PERSON, PER NIGHT.
THE PRICE INCLUDES BREAKFAST AND DINNER, A RIDE IN A FLIGHT SIMULATOR AND A TOUR OF THE HISTORIC SHIP WHICH WAS LAUNCHED ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE PEARL HARBOR ATTACK.
UNFORTUNATELY, THE POPE SPECIAL DOES NOT INCLUDE SHOWERS.
THAT'S OUR PROGRAM FOR NOW.
I'M HARI SREENIVASAN.
YOU CAN FOLLOW US ON TWITTER AND FACEBOOK AND WATCH US ANYTIME ON THE PBS APP FOR iPHONES AND iPADS.
THERE IS ALSO MUCH MORE ON OUR WEBSITE, WHERE YOU CAN LISTEN TO OR WATCH EVERY PROGRAM.
JOIN US AT PBS.ORG.
AS WE LEAVE YOU, MORE SCENES OF REMEMBRANCES FROM NAGASAKI AND HIROSHIMA.
THAT'S WHY WE'RE YOUR RETIREMENT COMPANY.