2022-05-23: Patriots’ Day
23rd May 2022: National Patriots’ Day “That any union between Church and State is hereby declared to be dissolved, and every person shall have the right freely to exercise such religion or belief as his/her conscience dictates.” — Declaration of Independence…
The “Islamophobia” Scam
David Rand 2022-05-14 This talk was accompanied by a presentation of some thirty slides which we suggest you consult while reading through the text below. The video below is also available in our Youtube channel. This talk is an English…
RPL Press Release, 2022-05-11
Press Release, Rassemblement pour la laïcité (Alliance for Secularism) Motion before the House of Commons Canadian Parliamentarians Stuck in Premodern Times 2022-05-11 Montreal, Wednesday 11th May 2022 : The Rassemblement pour la laïcité (RPL) is concerned by the overwhelming rejection of…
Blog 138: Three Inconvenient Facts about Secularism
David Rand 2022-04-14 There are three important facts which need to be faced if we are to make serious progress towards secularism. The U.S. Constitution is not a good model of secularism. Islamists weaponize the “antiracism” movement in order to…
Four Good Causes
2022-04-04 For Bill 21 and for the reunification of the Badawi family, please consider making a donation to one—or several, or all!—of the following good causes. Atheist Freethinkers Legal Fund Our association intervened in support of Bill 21 before Quebec…
Blog 135: Four Myths about Quebec Bill 21
David Rand 2022-01-23 Here are four falsehoods which are regularly heard concerning Quebec Bill 21. The word “myths” in the title is perhaps too weak—the term “lie” would be more appropriate—as opponents of the Bill blithely repeat them. [1] Bill…
Blog 133: Is Quebec Bill 21 Discriminatory?
David Rand 2021-12-28 If you check the text of Quebec’s Bill 21 (officially named An Act respecting the laicity of the State, where “laicity” is a bad translation and should be “secularism”), you will see that the religious symbol ban…
Blog 130: Republican Secularism versus Secularism
Pierre Marchand 2021-12-16 Let us start by defining a few terms. By republican secularism (laïcité républicaine), we mean the republican model of secularism established by the French Law of Separation of Churches and State of 1905: Article 1 : “The Republic…
RPL Press Release, 2021-12-12
Press Release, Rassemblement pour la laïcité (Alliance for Secularism) Veiled Teacher at Western Québec School Board RPL Denounces Political & Media Exploitation 2021-12-12 12th December 2021 — The Rassemblement pour la laïcité (RPL) denounces the media and political exploitation of the…
2021-12-11: Introduction to Atheism
The following is the content of an on-line talk given 11th December 2021. The PDF version of the presentation is also available. Introduction to Atheism 11th December 2021 On-line Talk by David Rand President, Atheist Freethinkers atheism = a +…
Loi 21: création d’une Direction de la laïcité de l’État (Bill 21: Creation of a Directorate of State Secularism), Marc-André Gagnon, Journal de Québec, 2021-12-03. The government of Quebec has announced the creation of a Directorate of State Secularism whose…
Blog 125: The Inappropriate Modesty of Quebec Secularists
David Rand 2021-11-02 In the fall of 2016, the Liberal Party of Quebec government held parliamentary hearings in Quebec City to study Draft Bill 62 (Session 41) which ostensibly affirmed State religious neutrality but was extremely weak—although too much for…
PRESS RELEASE, 2021-10-25
For immediate release Atheist Freethinkers welcomes the new CCQ program announced by Minister Roberge Montreal, 25th October 2021 — Atheist Freethinkers (LPA-AFT), an association which promotes secularism and supports the rights of atheists, welcomes with enthusiasm and relief yesterday’s announcement by…
RPL Press Release, 2021-10-24
Press Release, Rassemblement pour la laïcité (Alliance for Secularism) Quebec Culture and Citizenship A promising new course for social cohesion 2021-10-24 The Rassemblement pour la laïcité (Alliance for Secularism, RPL) enthusiastically welcomes the draft, announced today by the Minister of…
Legault relaunches session with promise to end state of emergency early in new year, Isaac Olson, CBC, 2021-10-19. One of the ways he will change education is by strengthening “national cohesion” by replacing the province’s ethics and religious culture curriculum…
RPL Press Release, 2021-10-18
Press Release, Rassemblement pour la laïcité (Alliance for Secularism) Quebec Bill 21 : The English Montreal School Board seeks an exemption from the usual rule of law in order to hire teachers wearing religious symbols. 2021-10-18 18th October 2021 : Today the…
AFT Challenges CFIC to a Debate about Quebec Bill 21
2021-10-15 We, Atheist Freethinkers (AFT) sent the following message today to the Centre for Inquiry–Canada (CFIC), challenging them to a public debate about Quebec Bill 21. 2021-10-21, UPDATE, Reply received from CFIC: “Unfortunately, we will have to decline your invitation.…
RPL Press Release, 2021-10-06
Press Release Against Vaccination Exemptions for Religious Reasons in the Federal Public Service 2021-10-06 The Alliance for Secularism (Rassemblement pour la laïcité or RPL) is compelled to respond to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s October 6, 2021 declaration that federal public…
The Rassemblement pour la laïcité (RPL or Alliance for Secularism) Questions the Parties Quels engagements en matière de laïcité ? (What Commitments Will You Make for Secularism?), Claude Kamal Codsi for the RPL, La Presse, 2021-08-24. In preparation for the upcoming…
The ‘Free Cooperation’ Between Church and State in New Zealand and Australia
Max Wallace Max Wallace is Secretary of the Secular Association of New South Wales and a member of the New Zealand Association of Rationalists and Humanists. 2021-08-30 Introduction In a letter to The Age, 2 September 1988, George Pell, then…
Opinion: Islamophobia or nourishing the breeding ground of political Islam?, Nadia El-Mabrouk, Tarek Fatah and Yasmine Mohammed, CTV News, 2021-07-26. Given the importance of this article, we reproduce it here in its entirety. MONTREAL — In preparation for the National…
Blog 124: English Canada’s Unhealthy Obsession with Islam Gets Worse
David Rand 2021-07-01 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…
Le gouvernement du Québec remet le tout premier Prix de la laïcité Guy-Rocher (Quebec Government Awards Very First Guy-Rocher Secularism Prize), Press release from the office of the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of Quebec, Le Lézard, 2021-06-16. The government…
2021-06-12: Bill 21 and Court Challenges
Quebec Bill 21: Vanguard of secularism despite its modesty David Rand, President, Atheist Freethinkers 2021-06-12 In this talk, David Rand explains: What Bill 21 does. Why we support it. The current state of the court challenge to the law. The…
Blog 123: Cultural Relativism, Cultural Imperialism & Quebec Bill 21
Opponents of Bill 21 Reject Objectivity David Rand 2021-06-02 Suppose that we are confronted with a situation where conflicting values collide, where two groups of people who come into contact with each other have very different approaches to a given social…