A belief system is a set of ideas that people accept as true even when they cannot be proven with hard evidence. In the context of transgender ideology, detransitioners describe it as functioning like a religion: it rests on the faith-based claim that each person has an unseeable, internal “gender identity” (a male or female soul) that may not match the body. This belief is treated as unquestionable fact; doubting it is labeled heresy and met with social punishment, much like apostasy in a religious community. Detransitioners note that concepts such as “passing,” pronouns, and medical transition are rituals that require everyone to participate in a shared deception, reinforcing the belief system. Because the ideology becomes central to personal identity, questioning it feels existentially threatening, making deprogramming as difficult as leaving a religious cult.