The preamble to Bill 21, entitled "An Act respecting the laicity of the State," explains the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government's motivation.

It says the Quebec nation "has its own characteristics, one of which is its civil law tradition, distinct social values and a specific history that [has] led it to develop a particular attachment to state laicity."

Secularity should be "affirmed in a manner that ensures a balance between the collective rights of the Quebec nation and human rights and freedom."

The preamble also notes Quebec "attaches importance to the equality of women and men".

The bill says laicity is based on four principles:

• The separation of state and religions
• The religious neutrality of the state
• The equality of all citizens and freedom of conscience
• Freedom of religion.

If it becomes law, public workers in positions of authority would be banned from wearing religious symbols.

The CAQ Minister of Immigration says all religious symbols regardless of size would be prohibited. However, religious tattoos or Rastafarian dreadlocks did not count as religious symbols.

The bill would directly affect:

• Public employees who carry weapons, including: police officers, courthouse constables, bodyguards, prison guards and wildlife officers
• Crown prosecutors, government lawyers and judges
• School principals, vice-principals and teachers.

The bill includes a clause exempting those already wearing religious symbols from removing them as long as they hold the same job.

In addition, the bill proposes rules for citizens who apply for public services: they will have to uncover their faces for identification or security purposes. This could affect people using public transit cards on municipal services.

Other citizens who will be directly impacted include doctors, dentists and midwives in public institutions, subsidised daycare workers and school boards.

The previous Liberal government passed a law with similar requirements, but the relevant sections remain suspended following a court challenge by civil liberties groups.

The CAQ is getting around this by invoking a so-called "notwithstanding clause".

Officially called Section 33 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the clause allows provincial or federal authorities to override certain sections of the charter for a period of five years.

The CAQ also introduced a motion promising to move the crucifix hanging in the National Assembly's main chamber to a different part of the building. The motion passed unanimously.

The crucifix has been hanging above the Speaker's chair since 1936.

A government-commissioned report into secularism and identity issues recommended in 2008 that it be removed, but no government has done so.

Source

• CBC
• CBC
• Image: CBC

A new report issued last Thursday by former European Union official Catherine Day focused on the relationship between the Irish state and Church-run hospitals.

There are twelve Catholic hospitals in the Republic of Ireland, all of which receive state funding.

The report said, "A number of people who responded to the consultation felt that the religious ethos of an organization was apparent in its décor, through the presence of chapels, religious icons, logos and posters.

"While not directly related to the range or delivery of services, we recommend that organizations should be cognisant of the impact of décor on patients/service users and strive to ensure that their personal preferences in this regard are met to the greatest extent possible."

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar says the report won't force hospitals to remove religious symbols from the public areas of their facilities.

"It's not a campaign from the Government or anyone around removing cribs or crucifixes or statues of Our Lady - that's not what's going to happen.

"But it is a message to charities and voluntary bodies that do run hospitals and schools just to have regard to these things," he says.

"It is the 21st century, things have changed, a lot of patients, a lot of kids aren't religious, maybe aren't Roman Catholic, and the ethos of an institution that's publicly funded should reflect the public, not just any one section of the public," Varadkar told the radio station.

Varadkar says he does not believe in banning religious symbols. However, he would like more diversity of those symbols.

"I'd have a crib, I'd have a menorah and something for Eid too. Lots of parish schools recognise that they have children from other traditions."

Source

• CruxNow
• LifeSite News
• Image: independent.ie

Of the 64 countries in this category, about half have Christian symbols (48%) and about a third include Islamic religious symbols (33%), with imagery on flags from the world's two largest religious groups appearing across several regions.

Christian symbols are found on 31 national flags from Europe, Asia and the Pacific and the Americas.

The United Kingdom's "Union Jack," for example, includes the crosses of St. George, St. Patrick and St. Andrew.

Some Commonwealth countries continue to incorporate the Union Jack as a part of their own flags, including Fiji, Tuvalu, Australia and New Zealand.

Spain, Greece, Norway and the Dominican Republic are among the other countries with Christian national symbols.

Islamic symbols are found on the flags of 21 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East and North Africa.

In Bahrain, the national flag features five white triangles, symbolizing the Five Pillars of Islam.

Algeria, Turkey, Brunei and Uzbekistan are some of the many countries that include an Islamic star and crescent on their national flag.

Although Singapore has a crescent and stars on its flag, they do not have religious significance.

The crescent moon "represents a young nation on the ascendant, and the five stars depict Singapore's ideals of democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality," according to the Singapore government.

Buddhist or Hindu religious symbols appear on five national flags; in three of those cases, the symbols apply to both religions.

The Cambodian flag depicts Angkor Wat, a temple historically associated with both Hinduism and Buddhism, while in Nepal, the flag features both Buddhist and Hindu symbols to represent the two predominant religious groups in the country.

And in India, the blue chakra at the center of the flag holds symbolic meaning for both Hindus and Buddhists. Continue reading

Article and Image:

• Pew Research

Some parents are worried that New Zealand could follow the lead of France and enforce a strict secular educational environment.

It comes two weeks after St Heliers School announced it would move its Christian religious education programme to outside school hours following complaints to the Human Rights Commission.

The National MP for Tamaki, Simon O'Connor, said he had been regularly stopped in the streets of his constituency by concerned parents since the decision was made public on February 11. Continue reading.