MONTREAL, October 17, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The new mandatory Ethics and Religious Culture program that was introduced this fall in Quebec schools has parents fuming, with many complaining that the program effectively removes their right to choose the kind of religious education their children receive. To show their displeasure a group of Quebec parents has organized a protest march for tomorrow, Saturday, October 18.A protest rally is a good start, but are those bureaucrats in the ministry of education going to back down just because they see a big crowd protesting? A massive "parental strike", with the parents province-wide pulling their children out of public schools and educating them at home would be a far more effective form of protest. At least, it could last all the way until the parents' demands are met. If enough families participated - Quebec government would simply not have enough policemen to go after all the parents at once.
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The new compulsory religion course, from which children cannot be exempted, replaces three options that had been available to Quebec students - a generic course in moral education or two other courses that were either Catholic or Protestant in nature.
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A request for exemption from the Ethics and Religious Culture program by Loyola High School, a private Catholic boys' school in Montreal, on the grounds that the course conflicted with the school's Catholic character, was refused by Education Minister Michelle Courchesne, which prompted the school administration also to take the issue to court.
Sylvain Lamontagne, a parent from Valcourt, told the Canadian Press that he is concerned the course exposes his children to world religions at a very young age while threatening their Christian faith, and will cause confusion and push his kids towards atheism.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Quebec Kills Parents' Rights To Choose Religion Instruction
What was proposed by Ontario Greens during the last year's election campaign, is now being implemented by Quebec Liberals:
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2 comments:
It's only a matter of time before the thought police have our children reporting to the authorities so we can all be "re-educated", George Orwell style.
Mrs. Ashe, it would appear that you're not familiar with Daniel Dennett, a world famous biologist and philosopher. He supports this kind of consciousness-raising program for the benefits it offers a pluralistic society such as ours.
Far from being something to fear - or compare to an Orwellian plot - the Quebec education program aims NOT to proselytize, but rather aims to educate students by presenting factual data about the existence of various belief systems. It does not teach that one, or any, is necessarily the "truth". It teaches just that various people have divergent beliefs, and to some extent, how this came to be.
One can't deny that, merely by living in Canada, kids will find out sooner or later about the widely divergent belief systems that exist out there.
Dennett makes a convincing case that, by properly informing students of this diversity, using a structured curriculum, students are well served by their public education. In turn, society grows more tolerant and respectful of individuals who hold a different opinion, or religious belief than "the one they grew up with".
The more you isolate children and indoctrinate them with the dogma of a single religion, the greater the risk of bigotry and intolerance emerging.
It seems clear that opposition to this well-reasoned approach can only stem from one of two things:
1) lack of understanding, on the protester's part, of the course's aims and/or the non-proselytizing nature of the curriculum, or
2) the protesters themselves are religious and so wish to exert the very sort of "thought control" over their children - that you would have opposed in any other non-religious context.
To a progressive thinker, forbidding a child to question things, or forbidding any exposure to a competing worldview, is the very height of "thought control". That would be the practice to target for protest, not a forward looking plan endorsed by Dan Dennett.
Consider that, by far, the single biggest predictor of a person's own religious choice is the religion practiced by the parents. It's hardly a well-informed "choice", though, considering the overwhelming power of childhood indoctrination. This form of thought control is especially effective when combined with the systematic isolation from knowledge of competing ideology.
I don't know whether protesters fear for the welfare of a particular child, or they simply fear that their own religion will become diminished if students attend these courses.
If shielding religious dogma from fair scrutiny and skepticism isn't the real issue behind the protests, then what is? In a secular context, what could possibly be wrong with teaching these things?
a) many different religions are practiced around the world;
b) adherents to religions other than that of one's parents live here in Canada, they're equally valid members of our society, and some are your neighbours and schoolmates;
c) since so many divergent worldviews exist, it's clearly impossible for all to be absolutely true.
I do note, wryly, that most protesters are affiliated with one of the Abrahamic monotheisms. I haven't seen reports of atheist parents afraid that their children will be indoctrinated into believing a Bronze Age story as the literal truth.
Teaching pluralism, science and rational thinking is a good thing for our society.
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