Quebec, Canada - An authentic course in comparative religion examines the major faiths as a scholarly exercise and from a neutral vantage point. It is also inevitably an option course, not part of any core curriculum, except perhaps in specialized theological studies, such as in divinity school or for a university degree in religious studies. The mandatory nature of Quebec's new Ethics and Religious Culture course, strongly suggests there's more to this curriculum than an innocent overview of religious pluralism.
Thousands of Quebec parents are rightly furious they cannot have their children opt out of the course, which was introduced into public and private schools last fall. The course examines the major roles Catholicism and Protestantism have played in Quebec and Canadian society, but it places everything else on equal footing with these two predominant faiths, including Wicca and Raelianism--the bizarre cult that was in the news a few years ago when its members erroneously claimed to have cloned a human.The whole thing reeks of a politically correct, value-equal smorgasbord that encourages children to pick and choose from among religions and cults as if making a choice is as trivial as whether to take the tuna sandwich on white or on whole-wheat. The underlying message being sent to malleable children, who are still in the process of having their identities and faiths shaped by their families'religious and cultural milieux, is that all religions and ethics are equal, and without regard for history or parental teachings, you can choose to be anything you like. Be a Catholic or be a Jew. Be a Muslim, follow aboriginal spirituality, practise Wicca, become an animist or join the Raelians --it's all the same.
According to Education, Loisir et Sport Quebec, the course allows children to "explore . . . different ways in which Quebec's religious heritage is present in his/her immediate or broader environment,"and "learn about elements of other religious traditions present in Quebec." That sounds fairly innocuous--except that the underlying agenda has been revealed in comments such as that from one of the course developers who said, "Students must learn to shake up a too-solid identity." Huh? Since when do parents pay taxes and send their kids to school for that?
The curriculum is also intended to "facilitate" students' spirituality and sense of fulfilment. That is unequivocally the role of parents, not the schools. And young children need to be solidly rooted in their own identities--again, the parents'domain--in order to develop a proper perspective on, and appreciation for, the beliefs and identities of others.
If there weren't an insidious agenda at work here to socially engineer children's minds into a politically correct and phoney religious egalitarianism, the course would be optional. Instead, children are being suspended from school because they or their parents have refused to allow them to participate in the course. Granby, Que., teen Jonathan Gagne faces expulsion for boycotting the course, and a legal challenge is underway.The courts need to come down squarely on the side of freedom of conscience and family and parental rights in this one; anything less is an affront to their basic freedoms.