Secularism requires that the state be separate from, and neutral vis-à-vis, religious groups. The state must also protect the religious…
Toward illiberal secularisms in Western francophone societies
Quebec
Niqab, sunglasses, and the sincerity of belief
Haunted by its Roman Catholic background and still horrorstruck by last year’s mosque shooting, Québec, the French-speaking province of Canada,…
Beheading the Saint: An introduction
Beheading the Saint is about the shifting relationship between nationalism, religion, and secularism in a society which was, until the…
Building secularity via religious revival and the “patrimonialization” of religion
While crude secularization theories predicting the end of religion have, in response to strong criticism, been refined to be less…
Short skirts and niqab bans: On sexuality and the secular body
Introduced in Québec in March 2010, Bill 94 proposed requiring women to unveil their faces if they wanted to work…
The Charter of Quebec Values derailed
On April 7th the Quebec Liberal Party won a majority government in the 41st Quebec general election, with incumbent Parti…
The Charter of Quebec Values
On November 7th, 2013, on the heels of a heated public debate about the role of religion in public life,…
Of saints, separatism, and secularization (part 2)
In my previous post, I discussed the ambivalent legacy of the Catholic Church in Québec in light of the recent…
Of saints, separatism, and secularization (part 1)
Three weeks ago, in a province with the lowest rate of Church attendance in Canada, 50,000 people attended Mass to…