Maybe the Province of Quebec's proposed Charter of Values is giving all of Canada on opportunity to think about the place of religious expression in public life. If you were to go on-line and review what people are saying about this issue you would be amazed at the diversity of opinion there is on this topic.
We can speculate on what Quebec is really trying to do with this legislation but there are as many opinions about this as there are people. I don't imagine that those who brought about the notion of multiculturalism ever thought that having diversity in the public arena would be a problem. Many people I believe do not want the government messing around with their religious practices nor do they think that having a strictly secular society is desirable either. We all want to live in a country that is free of discrimination of any kind. The issue of "same-sex marriage" is one example of this desire to not discriminate against someone who holds a different belief. I think we should all be proud of this.
But then along comes Quebec and it appears that in their attempt to be seen as a secular society they are attempting to remove all displays of religious affiliation on the part of public employees. I suppose there is some fear that people will believe or at least feel that if someone is wearing a symbol of their religion which is different than their own there will be some possible discrimination that could take place. This may or may not happen. I'm not sure we will ever be able to legislate against perceived discrimination, only discrimination that actually takes place. It is interesting to note that there are a number of exceptions to this ban. Two examples of this are the crucifix in the Quebec Legislature and the giant cross on Mount Royal in Montreal. The reason for these exceptions is that they are part of Quebec's history. But the wearing of some religious symbol also has historical roots.
It is hard to believe that the issue at stake here is as straight forward as it may appear. Is it some political game that is being played or is the real issue buried in all the emotion that is being displayed? Most of us, I am sure, would agree that we would not approve of religious discrimination. But would we agree with advocating a religious preference in a multicultural political setting? Maybe it's time we get over the notion that we are a Christian country. There are many in our country who would believe that we still are and always will be. It is very easy to be so accustom to our traditions that we fail to see that some may be giving a message that we really do not mean to give.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and ask why we still say the Lord's Prayer in our council chambers at the beginning of each session. Why do we do this? What are we saying to all the people of Cobourg? That this is a Christian place, controlled by Christians? I don't think so but you would not be hard pressed to come to that conclusion. The fact that others are doing it is no excuse to continue the practice when it is giving out a message that I don't believe we want to give out.
I don't believe Quebec is dealing with the perceived problem in the best way, but ignoring the issue of how we are being perceived is not the best way either.
David Janzen is chaplain at The Golden Plough Lodge seniors residence in Cobourg.
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