Should religious symbols be permitted in government buildings?

The Quebec legislature has a small crucifix hanging on the wall behind the speaker’s chair and this was of concern to some people in Quebec. An investigation by The Bouchard-Taylor Commission conducted a study of secularism in public places, along with other areas of concern while the members of the legislature discussed the issue. Premier Jean Charest tabled a motion to preserve the National Assembly's crucifix before Bouchard and Taylor had even presented their report at a news conference. The motion was unanimously adopted on May 23, 2008 and as a result, the crucifix remains on the wall.

Charest told a news conference in Quebec City. "We won't rewrite history. The church has played a major role in who we are today as a society. The crucifix is more than a religious symbol."

The report of the Commission called for the establishment of "open secularism" in provincial institutions, a more robust "intercultural" dialogue, and a campaign to promote cultural diversity. The authors proposed that public officials like judges and police officers be forbidden from wearing religious symbols, and recommend that municipal councils shelve the traditional pre-session prayer. It did add however that other government employees, such as teachers, shouldn't be prevented from wearing hijabs, or kipas, or crucifixes.

Let me say right from the start that I am against religious symbols of any kind being hung on the walls of government buildings other than those that are hung on the walls of private offices. All over Canada and the United States, there is a separation of church and state that is recognized by all governments in our two nations.

The crucifix is strictly a Christian symbol and in my opinion, should not stand alone as if it is the symbol of all faiths. Admittedly, the vast majority of Quebecers are Christians but as long as there are Canadians of other faiths living in that province, the crucifix in my respectful opinion, should not hang on the walls of government buildings.

There is a vast difference between a crucifix and the Ten Commandments. In 2004, the Pew Research Center found that 72% of Americans consider Ten Commandment displays in public spaces to be proper.

In the 1950s and ‘60s thousands of Ten Commandment monuments were donated and placed around the United States by the Fraternal Order of the Eagles. Several decades later these granite monuments near or in government buildings would come to attract a great deal of attention. Since 1980, thirty lawsuits have been filed to remove the monuments. In twelve cases the displays were held to be legal and in eighteen cases the displays were determined to be unconstitutional. Considering that Christians, Jews and Muslims alike accept the Old Testament as a holy book and that Moses was the one who brought the Ten Commandments down from the Mountain, I can appreciate why so many Americans consider the displays to be proper. After all, there is nothing in the Ten Commandments that is contrary to the best interests of everyone, no matter what their religion is. However, many will not agree that they should remain on public property for the following reasons. There are at least four versions of the Ten Commandments; a Protestant version, a Catholic version, a Lutheran version, and a Jewish version. There are differences between the First and Second Commandments such that the numbering for the following Eight Commandments is different for each version. The Jewish version of the Ten Commandments prohibits “murder,” while the King James Version states that you “shalt not kill.” The latter version is deemed by some to prohibit capital punishment and war. Because of the different versions, a problem exists since only one version could be placed in or about a government building and the question of which version is chosen could cause a great deal of animosity within the community. For this reason, I don’t believe that the Ten Commandments should be placed in or near government buildings.

Religious violence in America is part of the fabric of American society. The Ku Klux Klan was at one time, a powerful symbol in America of Christian White men murdering and intimidating Blacks and Jews in part for religious reasons. Skinheads, Klansmen, and anti-government patriots are showing “particularly strong signs of life. They are the kind of organizations that attack religious minorities. Imagine if you will, the Star of David, (a Jewish religious symbol) hanging on a public building. How long would it be before some of these anti-religious and anti-Jewish kooks would begin attacking Jews?

I hope that anti-religious and religious kooks do not enter the National Assembly for the purpose of removing the crucifix hanging on the wall behind the speaker’s chair. Don’t think it can’t happen. Years ago, a kook entered the National Assembly in Quebec City and shot three people to death.

The French Government’s decision to ban religious symbols in schools; was primarily directed against the increasing number of young Muslim women wearing the hijab (headscarf), a form of religious dress, in schools. It is also directed at other selective religious insignia and, significantly, secular political symbols. Chirac has described the wearing of the hijab as ‘aggressive’. But this makes little sense to those many young Muslim women in France and Britain today who are saying they choose to wear it because it expresses their identity and they feel liberated. Forcing them to remove it will be an act of violence against them, and violates their right to free religious expression, education and work.

Should Christmas trees be banned from public buildings? In a previous blog, I said no and the Attorney General of Ontario agreed. A Christmas tree, Yule tree or Tannenbaum (German: fir tree) is one of the most popular traditions associated with the celebration of Christmas. It is normally an evergreen coniferous tree that is brought into a home or used in the open, and is decorated with Christmas lights and colorful ornaments during the days around Christmas.

However, I believe that most people put Christmas trees in their home, not for religious reasons but merely a place to put presents under and to string coloured lights and other decorations around it as a symbol of merriment and good. Placing a Christmas tree in a government building is a way in which the government expresses goodwill to all who enter the buildings.

In summary, if the crucifix is to be placed on walls of public buildings, then other religions should be able to put their religious symbols on the walls also. That’s not about to happen and therefore; it is in my opinion, wrong for a politician like Charest to bring in a motion for the purpose of keeping the crucifix on the wall of the National Assembly. As I see it, it was simply politicking so that when the next election comes, the majority of Quebeckers who are Catholic; will remember that he stood up for the cross. It’s unfortunate that he didn’t stand up for the rights on the non-Catholics also.