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| Parents ponder appeal of ethics course ruling |
| Religious Freedom |
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A Catholic parents’ group in Drummondville, Quebec, is considering whether to appeal a judge’s ruling rejecting their bid to keep their children from being exposed to the government’s new mandatory course on ethics and religious culture, the Montreal Gazette reported. The Quebec Association of Catholic Parents had sued their local school board on grounds that making their children attend the course violated their freedom of religion. But Quebec Superior Court Justice Jean-Guy Dubois disagreed, since all religions were represented in the curriculum. “This ruling diminishes the important role parents play in their children’s education,” association spokesperson Marie Bourque told the Gazette. “The government, courts and church can't replace parents in choosing religious and moral education for their children.” Introduced last year in all primary and secondary grades, the course teaches, from a cultural perspective, how various religious traditions have all contributed to Quebec society. The Coalition for Freedom in Education (CLÉ), representing faith-based families across the province who oppose the curriculum, has vowed to support the Drummondville parents if they decide to appeal. “At the coalition, we have proven that the content is a real prejudice against the beliefs of Catholic parents and those of other religions,” CLÉ spokesperson Richard Décarie told the Catholic Register. As one Drummondville mother wrote in a letter to the National Post, “I object to the textbook my [six-year-old] child had to use where all stories, be they Biblical (the Nativity), aboriginal (Big Hare) or animal tales (The Mice X-Mas), are told as tales of equal value and truth. It is important to note that the factual content taught in primary school is rudimentary; facts are not the real objective of the course. It is about instilling a pluralistic vision of religion: All religions are nice, more of them is better than one, all have truth in them and none are therefore really true because they contradict each other.” The CLÉ also represents evangelical parents in Granby who oppose the course. Their court hearing has yet to be held. |
