The GLBTQ Centre’s Que(e)rying event challenged students to keep asking questions when it comes to sexual orientation and organized religion, despite the lack of religious safe space.
Mike Wiseman, co-ordinator for the GLBTQ Centre, said: “There is a common misconception that you cannot be spiritual if you’re queer; discussions like these show that we can have that.”
Carleton’s new Ecumenical Champlain, Reverend Wayne Menard, welcomed 11 students on Oct. 21 to a discussion of GLBTQ tolerance and inclusivity among the religious community.
“If you’re spiritually hungry, where do you go? What do you do?” Menard asked.
Seated in the centre of the discussion group, Menard began the discussion by telling a story of his friend who spent seven years of his life studying to be an ordained minister, but was denied on the grounds of being a “self-proclaimed active gay man.”
“The bible is used to justify the church’s point, but it’s also use to justify my point, so the bible becomes fundamentally useless when discussing sexuality,” Menard said.
One of the major themes that came out of the discussion was the idea that members of the GLBTQ community need to keep their questions alive when it comes to religious inclusivity, and to challenge their own beliefs.
And while Menard points out that the discussion was not designed to criticize the church, he said he believes “we have a long way to go.”
Students at the event suggested that if students are looking for religious communities, they could find groups of people on popular Internet sites like Livejournal or Facebook, or by coming to the GLBTQ Centre on campus.