Nina Sankari, Kazimierz Łyszczyński Foundation, Warsaw, Poland
AFT On-line Event, 10th July 2021, 2 pm (Montreal time)
Language : French
“POLAND: THE CATHOLIC RIGHT’S ASSAULT ON FREEDOM”
Since a deadly vehicle attack on a family in London, Ontario on June 6, 2021, media and politicians in English Canada have deepened their unhealthy obsession with Islam. The Trudeau government has even proposed new legislation to “curb online hate speech” in spite of the fact that no social media presence could be found for the perpetrator.[…]
The situation was made even worse by unscrupulous politicians and journalists exploiting this horrific killing for partisan purposes. Many have drawn a link between this horrific attack and Quebec’s State secularism law, Bill 21, a link which is utterly spurious and indeed defamatory.[…]
In fact, all religions, whether minority or majority, enjoy considerable privileges in Canada. In particular, the religious exception 319(3)b) in the Hate Propaganda section of the Criminal Code grants impunity to “an opinion based on a belief in a religious text” thus allowing religious believers to make hateful statements against various groups such as atheists, women, gays and others, statements for which nonbelievers could be prosecuted. If the federal government were sincere about curbing hate speech, they would repeal 319(3)b), something which the Trudeau government refused to do when we, AFT, submitted our petition to that effect in 2018.[…]
[…] to assert that secular legislation is a cause of such horrific violence is not only unwarranted and irresponsible—it is also hypocritical, because it is the opponents of Bill 21 and similar legislation who are exacerbating animosity towards a religious minority by continually treating one religion in a privileged manner.
[…]opponents of Bill 21 adopt an attitude of cultural relativism with respect to religious practices in general, as if such practices had few if any negative consequences and little or no impact on other persons. In the particular case where the practice is wearing an ostentatious symbol of one’s religion, opponents of Bill 21 treat the symbol as devoid of any objective meaning and meaningful only in the mind of the wearer, i.e. they recognize only the subjective meaning which the wearer herself or himself assigns to it.[…]
Simultaneously, these same Canadian opponents of Bill 21 adopt an attitude of cultural imperialism with respect to secularism. The idea of banning the wearing of religious symbols by civil servants or schoolteachers is considered an anathema by those who subscribe to Canadian multiculturalism. The fact that secularists in the French-speaking world have a very different view is of no consequence to them, other than rejecting that view with absolute contempt. Thus, opponents of Quebec Bill 21 are cultural imperialists,[…]
The alliance of throne and altar in Poland has led in recent years to the clericalization of all spheres of life, in law and practice, to an unprecedented degree. Under pressure from the Church, women in Poland have lost their right to decide about their bodies and their fates. Now comes the turn of LGBT+ people.[…]
|
Atheist Freethinkers on the web |
Become a member of Atheist Freethinkers!Membership costs only |
Make a Donation to AFTOne-time or MonthlyContribute to our Legal Fund |
