Torontoist » Religion

Catholic Schools: Separate But Equal Funding

As Ontario's Catholic schools continue to oppose gay-straight alliances, many are asking why we're still funding the schools at all. We look into the history of Catholic school funding in Ontario.

At the upcoming rally in Queen’s Park this Sunday to support gay-straight alliances in Roman Catholic schools across Ontario, we easily imagine students holding up signs proclaiming “Equality or Bust.” Forty years ago, placards with that message were also held up by pupils, but at a mass rally at Maple Leaf Gardens to urge the [...]

God Help Our New Municipal Leaders

Photo by Christie Harper. Greenborough Community Church, at 2000 Keele Street, isn’t afraid to get political. Since October 26, 2010—the day after Toronto’s municipal election—the sign on the interdenominational church’s front lawn has read: LET US PRAY FOR OUR NEW MUNICIPAL LEADERS. GOD HELP US To uncover the meaning behind this message, we talked with [...]

Rosie DiManno Weighs In On the Ground Zero Mosque, For Some Reason

“Not near Ground Zero, you don’t!” Photo of an entrance to an Iranian mosque by Hamed Saber. Some Torontoist readers might be wondering, “Wait, a Ground Zero mosque post? What does that have to do with Toronto?” This is a fair comment, so let us be clear: this is not really an article about the [...]

Let Us Prey

The commissary at Highfield Road Gospel Hall must have been fresh out of mind-your-own-business last night, because nine of God’s hand-picked mouthpieces allegedly found themselves outside of the home of a Leslieville gay couple, praying for the men’s unsolicited salvation. Residents of the Dundas and Greenwood area stepped up in support of the unidentified targets, [...]

Duly Quoted: Rob Ford

"I support traditional marriage. I always have....[but] I’m not worried about what people do in their private life. I look out for taxpayers' money."

Mayoral Candidates Gather to Talk Around God

From left to right: George Smitherman, Rocco Rossi, Joe Pantalone, and Rob Ford. Religion. Politics. Breakfast. Set the scene in a church basement, with coffee, fresh fruit, and halal egg casserole, and watch the the four main mayoral candidates as they tip-toe through the minefield of religion. The Toronto Area Interfaith Council served its annual [...]

Does Toronto Care About Homophobic Ads on the TTC? Well, Yes.

Mockup of the Bus Stop Bible Studies’ ad, since deleted from the organization’s website. A large, electric-blue banner featuring an oddly tattooed youth and the question: “Does God care if I’m gay?” has been voluntarily removed by the Christian group behind the campaign after a flood of public complaints. Bus Stop Bible Studies, whose stated [...]

Yichud, Secluded from Harold Green

Photo courtesy of Convergence Theatre. A few weeks back, Convergence Theatre artistic directors Aaron Willis and Julie Tepperman were on the verge of getting locked into creative isolation. The Harold Green Jewish Theatre had pulled funding from Convergence’s February production of their 2009 Next Stage hit Yichud (Seclusion) (the title refers to the period during [...]

If It Ain’t Broke

For many, this falls under the category of “Duh,” but for others, it runs counter to their faith: a definitive report released today at a Toronto convention of the American Psychological Association has declared that controversial “ex-gay” therapy doesn’t work. Also known as reparative therapy, the treatment is based on the view that homosexuality and [...]

Doin’ It All for the Cookie

As the Star‘s Susan Delacourt featured this morning, Stephen Harper may have just exposed himself to a Biblical deluge of Catholic fury. Or not—it depends how serious of an issue the tasty, trans-substantiated body of your Lord and Saviour is. It’s up in the air why it wasn’t that big of a deal to our [...]

Working in Harmony

Panel from I’m Crazy, a graphic novel by Adam Bourret. Can a commercial printer invoke religion in order to refuse services? Local author Adam Bourret recently wrote a 126-page graphic novel, I’m Crazy. It’s autobiographical and, to quote his website, deals with “histories, secrets, obsessive compulsive disorder, drugs, gay romance, hallucinations and insanity.” Though Bourret—the [...]

The Atheist Bus / It’s Raising Quite A Fuss

Photos from the Canadian Atheist Bus Campaign. They’re here. After Halifax’s transit system rejected them, citing “a message that could be controversial and upsetting to people,” and Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, and London all followed suit, Toronto is officially this country’s first city to host bus ads saying: “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and [...]