Worshipping with Love
2022 - 2023
Worshipping With Love is a research project to create a safer place for 2SLGBTQ+ people everywhere, but specifically for 2SLGBTQ+ people of faith in Ontario.
Although Canada is a leader in 2SLGBTQ+ legislation, many people in different sectors of Canadian society still experience homophobia and transphobia. This has led to higher rates of suicide, addiction, and mental health issues in these communities. It has also led to higher rates of unemployment, hate crimes, and marginalization. 2SLGBTQ+ discrimination is often justified by religious belief by different faith traditions. Canada is currently at an important juncture: now that conversion therapy has been banned, other, more insidious and invisible efforts could take their place in faith-based communities to force individuals to repress their sexual and gender identity.
RFF is a leader in this new chapter of LGBTI activism. This chapter begins with Worshiping with Love, a project RFF developed to create a safer place for 2SLGBTQ+ people everywhere, but specifically for 2SLGBTQ+ people of faith. Worshiping with Love is a 2-year, Ontario-based project funded by Women and Gender Equality Canada. We will start by conducting research alongside 2SLGBTQ+ folks and affirming faith organizations to better understand the extent and impact of religious-based discrimination. We will examine both the best practices of affirming faith communities and barriers experienced by those trying to become affirming. The results of all our research will be published on our website, in our newsletter and on social media, and shared with everyone who has participated. We will develop resources and materials to both create awareness and increase organizations' capabilities to become affirming to the 2SLGBTQ+ community. The materials will be distributed online, for faith-based institutions such as places of worship and community organizations across Ontario.
Though RFF has a global mandate to end religious-based discrimination, this particular project is focused on Ontario, Canada and achieving inclusion and equality for 2SLGBTQ+ people in Ontario.
Download the Worshipping With Love Final Report.
If you would like to find out more or get involved in this project please email: volunteer@rainbowfaithandfreedom.org
This project has been funded by Women and Gender Equality Canada.
Mapping the Landscape
2021
In a landmark 41-page report, RFF introduces the wide landscape of faith-based 2SLGBTQ+ discrimination. This report addresses the most critical areas of where faith-based discrimination operates, surveying research from the last fifteen years, and documents the long-lasting impacts of this exclusion.
Key findings include:
- Beliefs within religions are not monolithic
- Sexuality is a product of society and not a biological constant
- Gender or sexual diversity is not a modern phenomenon
- Religious institutions in Canada have enforced colonization through homophobic and transphobic violence
The report examines the ways in which faith-based discrimination affects 2SLGBTQ+ people in a variety of key societal sectors, including public education, family units, worship spaces and healthcare.
Click the photo on the right to open the report in a new tab.
Helpful Infographics:
Plan Text Versions (Click to expand):
