I am a Queer Person of great faith. I pray all the time, usually not knelt by the side of the bed like you see in television and movies. I pray often with my eye open while I'm doing other things such as washing dishes, driving, going for a walk. There are also times when I pray with my eyes closed. Something I NEVER do when driving.
About a year ago I was approached by a colleague in the United Church who lives with her wife between Calgary and California. She, along with a reformed Rabbi, who just happens to be Transgender, were wanting to gather Queer People of Faith to discuss strategies and support for those of us who are victims of hate crimes, hate speech, etc. Of course I said yes!
At that first meeting we were about a dozen people of faith, representing Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and those who tend toward the "Spiritual but not Religious" side. One of the things that was discussed with drafting a letter to go to the Canadian government showing how folk who are religious can also love God. The text of the letter is below.
Click here to add your name to the letter.
The Queer Interfaith Coalition and its Affirming allies are reclaiming the religious voice from those who have sought to weaponize faith. We believe that all 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals are created in the Divine Image and that advocacy for their human rights is not antithetical to faith, but a central tenet of our religious faiths.
We denounce the historic and current harms caused by fear-mongering, misinformation, disinformation, political maneuvering, and hate speech. We seek to bring healing and justice on behalf of our communities of faith that have, far too often, been responsible for adverse religious experiences and spiritual wounds that have caused enduring harm to 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and their advocates.
We affirm that the shared understanding of our religious duty is to dedicate ourselves to advocating for the full and comprehensive human rights of all members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community; promoting mental health, realizing the rights of 2SLGBTQIA+ children and youth, and ending gender-based violence. We commit to creating and advocating for religious communities that are reflective of these sacred tenets of intersectional equity so that all 2SLGBTQIA+ people can flourish.
We encourage people of faith to engage in the public square and support the Society of Queer Momentum’s response to rising anti-2SLGBTQIA+ hate, including the #FactsOverFear campaign, helping change the conversation on inclusion in schools, and the #Act4QueerSafety initiative, mobilizing communities to call for the Government of Canada to take action on rising hate and violence.
We believe that every person is holy, every love and life is sacred, and that our faiths invite us to be more of who we are, not less. We call upon all people of faith to join us in denouncing the damaging heresy that some people are more deserving of equality than others.
We will not be silent. We will not be invisible. And we invite every person of conscience to join us in advocating for a world where the rights of 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals are no longer debatable.
- Queer Interfaith Coalition and its Affirming Allies
You can add your voice to this letter by clicking this link and scrolling to the bottom of the page. Every voice matters. Please consider adding your name to this open letter. With the reality of a federal election looming, we will need to bring this to the new government, to the new Prime Minister, whomever that may be.
Thanks!
Originally published January 2025