Quebec enforces secularism, bans street prayers, prayer rooms in universities, wearing of religious symbols by educators

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

https://www.ctvnews.ca/montreal/article/quebec-passes-law-banning-street-prayers-prayer-rooms-in-universities-cegeps/

Quebec passes law banning street prayers, prayer rooms in universities, CEGEPs


The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) “super-minister” of identity, Jean-François Roberge, has just passed his bill to strengthen secularism.


Municipalities will be able to authorize them, but only under certain criteria. The new law will also ban the wearing of religious symbols by daycare educators. The government is also extending this ban to teachers and staff at private schools.


Archbishop of Montreal says Quebec’s ban on public prayer violates fundamental freedoms
Muslim students concerned as Quebec government tables sweeping new secularism rules

However, there will be a grandfather clause for employees hired before Nov. 27, 2025. The full-face veil will be banned in daycare centres, CEGEPs, and universities for both those receiving services and those providing them.

Religious content
The Legault government is also signalling the end of the road for subsidized private religious schools. These schools will have three years to stop selecting students and teachers based on their religious affiliation and to cease teaching religious content during school hours, otherwise they will lose access to public funds.

Religious activities may still take place in these schools, but only outside of school hours. They must also be optional and not funded by the state.

The minister is also putting an end to prayer rooms in CEGEPs and universities.

The Legault government is thus strengthening its Bill 21 on secularism, which prohibits the wearing of religious symbols by government employees in positions of authority, including judges, police officers, and teachers.

[applegrove]

1. Sick.

[Spazito]

2. I have no doubt this will be challenged in court...

It may well make it all the way up to Canada's Supreme Court.

[Fiendish Thingy]

4. It already has, hasn't it

The province already invoked the Notwithstanding Clause to ignore the ruling, unless this is a new law.

[Spazito]

5. I think this is an add-on to the original bill 21...

and it looks like they are using the notwithstanding clause to include this addition so, yes, it will not go before the courts, unfortunately.

From the article:

"The Legault government is thus strengthening its Bill 21 on secularism, which prohibits the wearing of religious symbols by government employees in positions of authority, including judges, police officers, and teachers.

Once again, Quebec is shielding its law from legal challenges with the notwithstanding clause."

[wnylib]

17. I could agree with this regarding public service employees

like judges, police, and teachers in public schools.

But private schools? So are nuns and priests forbidden to wear a cross in Catholic schools? Must they wear street clothes instead of habits, cassocks, and priest's collars inside their church run schools? OTOH, I can agree with the government not funding schools that teach religious doctrine. That's not the government's job.

[Spazito]

18. I am on the fence on this one...

On the one hand, it smacks of authoritarianism given this is also a province that demands the use of French over English in nearly every walk of life.

On the other hand, when it comes to children, I do think public schools should be religion-free given the schools are paid for by taxpayers.

Private schools that are not subsidized by tax payers should not be governed by this, they set their own criteria and parents can choose to send their children there or not.

[wnylib]

19. Agree.

I am not Catholic. I grew up in the Lutheran Church. in PA public schools when I was a child, the law required teachers to begin the school day by reading a chapter from the King James Bible. My Catholic friends objected to it. So did Jewish students, who were numerous in one of the high schools in town.

They celebrated when the SC ruled that the PA law was unconstitutional.

[Fiendish Thingy]

3. Turbans and hijabs are prohibited

But small crosses are OK.

Unless this is a new law, it was overturned by the Canadian Supreme Court, but the provincial government invoked to the Notwithstanding Clause to ignore the ruling.

[eppur_se_muova]

6. Banning street prayer is a little over the top, but I'm all for removing religion, in any aspect, from schools.

France has long outlawed any display of religious symbols by educators. No cross pendants for teach, comprenez-voux ?

Publicly funded institutions should be exclusively secular institutions.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

7. I think this ban refers to a certain type of street prayer..large groups protesting palestinian plight

Large groups doing their praying in the street..happening in Europe too

[eppur_se_muova]

8. Well, not too surprised, but it seems too much like a way of stopping protests such as those in Minneapolis recently ...

I can see a pastor, rabbi, priest etc. speaking at a protest being used as an excuse to shut it down.


If it's praying just to put on a big public display of religious fervor, I say treat it as any "street takeover". But the challenge is drawing the line between the two.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

9. this is what the "street prayer" looks like in Quebec. Bigger ones in NYC and Europe

[harumph]

10. I applaud this.

[LostOne4Ever]

11. While I think this is overboard

I rather live under this than the Christian Nationalist bullshit the state of Texas is shoving down my throat on a daily basis.

My plan to one day move to Québec remains resolute!

[Boo1]

12. I don't see any difference

Both are tyrany.

[JI7]

15. No, The Texas thing favors white right wing xtians

and wants to limit others.

The thing in Quebec applies to all religions. And it doesn't ban individuals in their own l8fe doing what they want.

[LostOne4Ever]

16. Plenty

It does not take away drivers license or passports from people who got them legitimately:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kansas-revoked-drivers-licenses-1700-transgender-residents-rcna262120

https://www.them.us/story/trump-administration-passports-trans-nonbinary-x-marker-invalid

It does not profile people using driver license ids:

https://www.advocate.com/news/texas-collects-gender-change-requests

It does not promote any religion or creed above others:

https://www.texastribune.org/2025/05/24/ten-commandments-texas-schools-senate-bill-10/

It does not strip women of their rights to their own bodies:

https://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/25/texas-trigger-law-abortion/

Strips kids of medical rights:

https://www.texastribune.org/2026/03/02/texas-transgender-health-care-minors-kids-mental-therapy/

Strips free speech rights:

https://www.texastribune.org/2025/11/06/texas-drag-show-ban-appeal/

Put freaking bounties on people’s heads for taking a pee:

https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/odessa-tx-just-put-10000-bounties

Undo civil rights protections:

https://www.advocate.com/politics/arlington-texas-lgbtq-discrimination-vote

And more and more and more of this shit every freaking year…

Québec sounds like a dream come true to this hell I have to live through.

[fujiyamasan]

13. I'm fine with banning full face veils in any position where you're interacting with the public

Especially child care. But I think it’s a small number religiously affiliated daycares and schools that hire people wearing something like that anyways.

The street prayers sound like a nuisance, but like any form of peaceful protest, if there’s a permit, I don’t see the problem.

I don’t care about headscarves or turbans. Neither should be disruptive in most situations, but I can see where a head covering could interfere with a safety helmet.

So many of these can be handled on a case by case basis, which is why I’m typically not in favor of such blanket bans, even if I’m generally sympathetic to the reasoning behind them and personally would prefer a more secular society.

[JI7]

14. This is a Cultural thing. I think it applies to all religions so I don't have

much of a problem with it.