The Quebec Superior Court began hearing testimony on Nov. 2 in a civil case against Bill 21, a 2019 policy that prohibits certain public sector employees from wearing religious symbols in the workplace. Although the plaintiffs contend that the Bill violates certain fundamental rights protected under the Canadian Charter of[Read More…]
Tag: Religion
Experts discuss the intersection of religion and climate activism
Montreal’s Council for Research on Religion (CREOR-M) hosted its first Colloquium on Religion and Climate Change in the Birks building. The event, held on Sept. 20, aimed to bring together McGill scholars from different fields to discuss how understanding faith can recontextualize the movement for climate justice. According to Claire[Read More…]
Bill 21 promotes hatred, not secularism
Organized by a collective called “Coalition Inclusion Quebec,” over 400 people took part in the latest of many recent protests against the highly controversial Bill 21 on May 5. Those present at the demonstration linked arms around Montreal’s courthouse to demonstrate their opposition to the bill. Introduced by the Coalition[Read More…]
Pork before synagogue: Growing up at a cultural crossroads
Born in Queens, my mom was raised in Westchester county, New York, a predominantly-Jewish area surrounded by fellow first and second-generation Ashkenazi relatives. Meanwhile, my Arkansas-born father was growing up with Methodist parents who have deep southern roots and distant Scottish ancestry. So, when they married in 1992, a strange[Read More…]
McGill must take a stand against Bill 62
Bill 62 is a xenophobic piece of legislation that is not reflective of the multicultural values upheld at McGill. The bill, passed by the provincial government on Oct. 18, prohibits citizens from covering their faces while giving and using public services. Justified under the guise of religious neutrality and security,[Read More…]
Dear Quebec, give Jagmeet Singh a fair shot
The New Democratic Party (NDP) has been in hibernation since the last federal election. It shed several pounds in Parliament—from 103 to 44 seats after the 2015 election—and ran its it’s base’s enthusiasm enthusiasm dry, leaving a skeleton of good policy remaining but little charisma. In this weak position, the[Read More…]
In search of a nice Jewish boy
When I was 13, my mother told me that she would kick me out of the house if I got a tattoo, or if I married non-Jewish. Her first fear never came to fruition, and her second was something I supported—if not ideologically—at least pragmatically. I grew up in a[Read More…]
What faith is your fashion? Looking into Forever 21’s hidden religious undertones
As a presumed general rule of consumer culture, products are available for sale to any interested buyer and businesses are motivated primarily by economic profit; however, in recent years it has come to light that some multinational corporations subliminally promote religious agendas through their product lines and, for the most[Read More…]
Uncover McGill hosts dialogue on justice and forgiveness
Uncover McGill, a series of talks across six days aimed at sparking conversations about spirituality-related topics among members of the McGill community began on Jan. 16. The first day’s panel, “A Dialogue on God”, hosted in the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) ballroom, discussed the meaning of forgiveness and[Read More…]
Finding room for faith
In 2005, McGill decided that due to space shortages it needed to evict the Muslim Students Association (MSA) and the Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Students’ Society (SACOMSS) from their previous space. SACOMSS found a new home, but the MSA students were left without a space for daily prayers and[Read More…]