{"id":117094,"date":"2025-08-28T23:00:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T23:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/117094\/"},"modified":"2025-08-28T23:00:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T23:00:09","slug":"quebec-plans-to-outlaw-public-prayer-in-move-to-strengthen-secularism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/117094\/","title":{"rendered":"Quebec plans to outlaw public prayer in move to strengthen secularism"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Quebec Secularism Minister Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Roberge on April 8. Earlier this week, an independent committee made 50 recommendations on how to strengthen secularism.Jacques Boissinot\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

The Quebec government says it is planning to ban prayer in public places as part of a move to strengthen secularism in the province. <\/p>\n

The announcement makes good on an idea first mentioned last winter by Premier Fran\u00e7ois Legault, who said he didn\u2019t want to see people praying in public parks or on streets. <\/p>\n

On Thursday, Secularism Minister Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Roberge confirmed he will table legislation this fall to outlaw the practice. The move comes amid simmering tension in Quebec over Muslim prayers taking place as part of pro-Palestinian demonstrations, including in front of the Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rise of street prayers is a serious and sensitive issue in Quebec,\u201d Roberge said in a written statement. \u201cLast December, our government expressed its unease with this growing phenomenon, particularly in Montreal.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Roberge did not say whether the government would invoke the notwithstanding clause, which would allow the bill to override certain sections of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Last year, Legault said he was considering that possibility. <\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing people on their knees in the streets, praying, I think we have to ask ourselves the question. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s something we should see,\u201d he said at the time. <\/p>\n

In an interview Thursday, National Council of Canadian Muslims CEO Stephen Brown said protest tactics like Muslim prayers in front of the Basilica may be unwise in Quebec\u2019s current political climate \u2013 but they should not be banned. \u201cWhy is it the only time when the government feels that there\u2019s a problem is when all of a sudden you see Muslims praying in the streets?\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, meanwhile, said it has been urging the government for months to take action against prayers that block public spaces. <\/p>\n

The legislation would be one part of a larger push by the province\u2019s Coalition Avenir Qu\u00e9bec government to expand secularism rules. Another bill tabled in the spring would extend the province\u2019s workplace ban on religious symbols to all public school staff. <\/p>\n

\u201cFacing serious difficulties in the polls, the Legault government is desperately trying to regain points in public opinion by exploiting a profitable theme: fear of Muslims,\u201d said former Canadian senator Andr\u00e9 Pratte on the social media platform X. <\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s be clear here: it\u2019s not prayers in public places that are disturbing. … No, what\u2019s disturbing is Muslims who pray, in the same way that the ban on religious symbols really only targeted the Muslim head scarf.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, an independent committee made 50 recommendations to the government on how to strengthen secularism. In a nearly 300-page report, the committee suggested limiting religious accommodations and extending the religious symbols ban to daycare workers. <\/p>\n

The committee, headed by two lawyers, also looked at the question of public prayer, but stopped short of recommending a blanket ban. Instead, the report said it should be up to municipalities to regulate the practice.<\/p>\n

The authors said they tried to strike a balance between upholding Quebec\u2019s collective values and \u200b\u200b\u201cthe preservation of religious practices that do not unduly harm public order.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Thursday, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association condemned the Quebec government\u2019s plan, calling it an \u201calarming measure\u201d that would be a \u201cclear infringement\u201d on freedom of religion and assembly. <\/p>\n

But Legault\u2019s party is not alone in considering a ban on public prayer. Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon on Thursday announced he would hold a \u201cconsultative referendum\u201d for members to weigh in on what his party\u2019s position should be. He called public prayers an \u201cappropriation of public space by religious fundamentalists.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin Lalibert\u00e9, president of the assembly of Catholic bishops of Quebec, said a ban on public prayer could disrupt Catholic rituals like the Way of the Cross procession on Good Friday. He questioned whether it would be illegal for someone to practice yoga in a park, or to pray during a visit by the Pope. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what it would mean if it were taken to the extreme,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re heading into a very dangerous area for the government, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Quebec Secularism Minister Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Roberge on April 8. Earlier this week, an independent…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":117095,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[192,13849,79],"class_list":{"0":"post-117094","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-pleasemod","10":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117094"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117094\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}