“To all Quebeckers, [my wife] and I wish you a Merry Christmas 🎄!”
These are the words of François Legault, Premier of so-called Quebec, a month after his government tabled the Act respecting the reinforcement of laicity in Quebec.
As early as 2019, during its first mandate, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) adopted under closure the Act respecting the laicity of the State, better known as Bill 21. Re-elected afterwards, the CAQ had promised to “settle the issue of State secularism .” Unlike its promise to reform the voting system, which we are still waiting today, the government has multiplied initiatives related to secularism, notably with the introduction of the proposed Quebec Constitution Act of 2025.
Between Christmas wishes and the strengthening of secularism, or laicity as defined by politicians, it becomes evident that the issue of State secularism, runs up against a fundamental contradiction.
In the past, secularism was understood as a stance aimed at limiting the influence of the Roman Catholic Church over the State and public institutions. Even before our parents were born, the Church wielded considerable influence over Quebec society. It was not limited to administering churches; it controlled schools, hospitals, several newspapers, as well as a large part of recreational activities. With the Quiet Revolution, the Church’s influence gradually declined. The State separated from the Church, and public institutions became non-religious.
Now, as the government multiplies bills aimed at reinforcing secularism, we are entitled to ask: what is the threat? The threat brandished by the CAQ has little to do with religious control of state institutions and looks far more with scare tactics, a fear of the Other, like Islamophobia. Secularism has become an instrument of control to repress individuals rather than a principle of state neutrality.
Secularism no longer serves to protect the State from religious interference; it has become a tool of control. A law supposedly intended to guarantee the “neutrality of the State,” such as the Bill 21, now regulates bodies, appearances, and personal practices, while leaving the dominant Catholic heritage intact. The effects of these laws are not merely symbolic. They have concrete consequences for access to employment, education, and social participation for certain immigrant and racialized communities[1], reinforcing prejudices against them that fuel many racist and hateful acts.
When the government attempts to ban street prayers, it criminalizes Muslim people, but also Jewish people. Are we going to ban the annual Santa Claus parade? Let us recall that Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus, the son of God in catholic beliefs. It is not a lay holiday, but a Catholic one.
When we look at the history of so-called Quebec, we cannot ignore the close link between the French-Canadian population and the Catholic religion. This historical identity thus remains “embedded in Quebec culture,” as Frédéric Castel, a specialist in religions and lecturer in religious studies at UQAM, noted in a column published in Le Devoir in 2024.
This leads us to question this secularism. Can we truly claim to defend the neutrality of the State while banning certain religious expressions and allowing Catholic traditions to persist in the public sphere? Why can Mariah Carey belt out “All I Want for Christmas Is You…” in stores while our teachers are not allowed to cover their hair?
This is not about rejecting secularism, but about recognizing its current excesses and its instrumentalization, and about seeking a balance. Let’s call a spade a spade: what the government of so-called Quebec is defending today is not secularism, but catho-secularism.
I therefore propose a rewording of Bill 21:
“Act respecting the [catho-]laicity of the State […]
AS it is important that the paramountcy of State [catho-]laicity be enshrined in Québec’s legal order; […]
- The State of [so-called] Quebec is [catholic] State.”