Gay vs God?
Breaking down myths about religion and identities of LGBTI people
“It’s a matter of Gay vs God.” How many times have you heard statements like this during discussions on religion and LGBTI issues? Or seen similar comments on your social media feed?
From 4 – 8 April, ILGA-Europe will be taking a look at why so many myths have been built up around this discussion. We want to break down the stereotypes around religion, belief, sexual orientation and gender identity.
Through a series of videos, personal testimonies and real life examples, our Gay vs God? campaign wants to affirm that it is not, and should never be, about ‘choosing a side’. Advocating for LGBTI equality is never about advocating against a religion or a belief.
On the contrary, we want to celebrate the fact that identifying as LGBTI and being part of a faith community are not mutually exclusive. Both are deeply personal and important parts of your identity.
We also want to open up the conversation by examining the common equality goals that both communities of activists share. We all have a lot in common – whether it’s personal incidents such as coming out to family and friends, facing harassment or discrimination at work or even having practical difficulties organising public events as an activist. We all have a lot of experience we can share with each other.
For five days, we will look at some of the most common myths and deconstruct them, hearing the voices of LGBTI activists, religious communities and LGBTI people of faith.
Many of our Gay vs God? video contributions were recorded in Brussels at the 2015 Equality for All conference, a two-day event organised jointly by ILGA-Europe and our friends at ENORB. You can read more about the event here.
We don’t want this to be a taboo subject. We want to hear your stories, your suggestions for more cooperation, your tips on how to advance equality for all. Whatever social media platform you use, we want you to get involved. Join us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Vimeo – or send us an email!
