LGBTQI2S rights in Canada have come a long way since the police bathhouse raids of 1981 in Toronto. Today, gay couples can get married and have children. Their rights are enshrined in legislation and human rights codes. Toronto’s annual Pride Month attracts hundreds of thousands to the city to celebrate, show pride and stand in solidarity.

One hurdle, a large one, remains in the path to full equal rights: religious belief. To many, their culture’s interpretation of religion defines being gay as a sin. The large controversy over an updated sex-ed curriculum in Ontario in 2015 (that specifically recognized gender fluidity) demonstrated how a number of religious groups continue to be conflicted about the subject. And LGBTQI2S individuals who are religious have often suffered in attempting to reconcile these two sides of their identity.

But religions can often be interpreted in many ways, and none is a monolith. Many religious people have found interpretations that are inclusive of sexual minorities. But the battle between inclusive and exclusive continues in what is now the final frontier in gay rights.

Watch the panel here: https://youtu.be/zsXflqRCa44. Video credits to Khouri Conversations: https://www.khouriconversations.org