diff --git a/lib/jekyll/frontmatter_defaults.rb b/lib/jekyll/frontmatter_defaults.rb
index 160e6bec..d6cb173f 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/frontmatter_defaults.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/frontmatter_defaults.rb
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ module Jekyll
 
       scope_path = Pathname.new(scope['path'])
       Pathname.new(sanitize_path(path)).ascend do |path|
-        if path == scope_path
+        if path.to_s == scope_path.to_s
           return true
         end
       end