bitterwinter.org

The Gospel According to the Elves: Quebec Secularism Law Targets Even Baby Jesus

Quebec’s new “Secularism 2.0” law is less about neutrality than about neutering religion, reducing faith to folklore while policing prayer out of public life.
by Massimo Introvigne
Christmas tree in public space in Sherbrooke, Quebec: allowed, only as long as it is not accompanied by a crèche. Credits.
“We can wish someone merry Christmas. We can sing Christmas songs. This is nothing but tradition. But we shouldn’t make any references to the birth of baby Jesus,” declared Secularism Minister of Quebec, Jean‑François Roberge, referring to schools and kindergartens in his province. “When we wish someone merry Christmas, we can think of Santa Claus and his elves, but nothing Catholic.”
It is a remarkable statement: a government official prescribing not only what citizens may say, but what they may think when they say it. Quebec’s secularism project has now reached the point where Christmas is permitted only as kitsch, stripped of its theological core. Santa is welcome; Christ is …