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Abstract
Inspired by the comparative method for RE as outlined by Bråten, this article elaborates on some similarities and differences between the present RE system in Flanders (Belgium) and the past RE system in Québec (Canada). After a brief outline of the societal level, the focus will be on the institutional level, where international, national and sub-national legislation will be examined. In addition, attention will be given to informal processes on the societal sub-national level, and especially to the debates with regard to the deconfessionalisation of RE in Flanders on one hand, and the debates on this issue in Québec on the other. This comparison will not only reveal important similarities, but also significant differences. Interestingly, it seems to be the case that especially these differences, and the particularities of the Flemish educational system, make the deconfessionalisation in Flanders even more complicated and difficult – but therefore not less urgent – than in Québec.
Acknowledgements
I am very grateful to Oddrun M. Bråten and Mireille Estivalèzes for their useful remarks on a first draft of this paper.
Notes
1. Methodologically, this paper is based on a theoretical, comparative study of (constitutional) law, scientific papers, research reports, government reports, jurisdiction and discussions in newspapers.
2. When I use the term ‘Flanders’ here, I mean the ‘Flemish Community’, which is, amongst other things, responsible for education.
3. For the difference between denominational and confessional RE, see e.g. Bråten (Citation2013, 22, 23).
4. The ICESCR and ICCPR were ratified by Canada in 1976, while Belgium ratified both covenants in 1983.
5. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms governs relations between the State and citizens while the Québec Charter also governs interaction between citizens.
6. In the previous article 41, this human right was connected to the state’s obligation to organise RE classes in accordance with parental religious preferences: ‘Parents or the persons acting in their stead have a right to require that, in the public educational establishments, their children receive a religious or moral education in conformity with their convictions, within the framework of the curricula provided for by law’. (emphasis mine)
7. Loi modifiant diverses dispositions législatives dans le secteur de l’éducation concernant la confessionnalité.
8. Loi modifiant diverses dispositions législatives de nature confessionnelle dans le domaine de l’éducation.
9. Loi sur l’instruction publique et l’enseignement privé.
10. Groupe de travail sur la place de la religion à l’école.
11. Laïcité et religion.
12. Ethique et Culture Religieuse (ECR).
13. In addition to the state schools, there are also independent (private) schools in Québec. These schools are mainly (but not exclusively) Catholic and are attended by approximately 12 % of the province’s students (Clemens et al. Citation2014). In subsidised independent schools, each student gets a 60% subsidy, compared with the 100% subsidy for students in state schools.
14. In addition to these Catholic private schools, there are also a few Jewish, Protestant, Islamic and humanist private schools and several schools based on a particular pedagogical view (e.g. Steiner or Freinet). Given their small number, however, we will not take these schools into consideration here and we will mainly focus on Catholic and official (state) schools.
15. All state schools are run by the state, but there is a (legal and financial) difference between schools run by the Flemish/French/German Community (Community Schools) on one hand, and schools run by public authorities (municipalities, cities, provinces) on the other.
16. Anglicanism is only offered in the Flemish Community; not in the French and German speaking Communities.
17. ‘Pillarization’ refers to denominational/political segregation in social organisations, media, trade unions, schools, political parties, etcetera. This kind of segregation in social life was typical for the Low Countries, but several nations and/or regions (e.g. Ireland and Québec) have (had) a pillarised education system as well. The process of depillarization in Belgium started in the 1970s but is not yet finished.
18. This secularisation is one of the features of the Quiet Revolution in Québec: a period of intense socio-political and socio-cultural change, characterised by secularisation, the creation of a welfare state, and realignment of politics into nationalist and sub-nationalist factions.
19. Different from Catholic schools, most Protestant schools were open and inclusive. Accordingly, they were often the only alternative for those students adhering to another (non-Christian) faith.
20. In 1977, Bill 101 (Charter of the French Language) was adapted by the Canadian government. This Québec law, in which French is defined as the official language of Québec, aimed at the protection of the Francophones in Québec, but is still contested by many Anglophones. After adaptation of Bill 101, immigrants of all languages and faiths were required to go to French schools and as a result, many non-Catholics attended Catholic schools since then as well.
21. For the difference between the de jure and de facto freedom of religion and education in Belgium, see Franken (Citation2016a, Citation2016b).
22. Evangelical schools, which were a minority, are an exemption here.
23. In the ‘Proulx’ report ‘Religion in Secular Schools’ (Gouvernement du Québec/Ministère de l’Éducation Citation1999), one of the examined (but non-recommended) options was an expansion of the confessional RE subjects, like in Belgium (multiconfessional model). This proposal was supported by the Catholic committee, but there was no majority for this proposal in the parliamentarian commissions. (cf. Boudreau Citation2011, 217; Milot Citation2012, 52).
24. In the Flemish Community, exemption was possible after several court cases (RvS, Sluijs, nr. 25.326, 1985-05-14; RvS, Vermeersch, nr. 35.442, 1990-07-10; RvS, Davison, nr. 35.834, 1991-11-13).
25. In order to make the aforementioned changes possible, two decrees have been changed: Décret instaurant un mécanisme de dispense pour les cours de religion et de morale non confessionnelle dans l'enseignement organisé par la Communauté française et dans l'enseignement officiel subventionné par la Communauté française (‘Decree establishing a mechanism of exemption for religion and for non-confessional ethics in education organised by the French Community and in official schools subsidised by the French Community’) (BS 05 August 2015); and Décret relatif à l'organisation d'un cours et d'une éducation à la philosophie et à la citoyenneté (‘Decree concerning the organisation of a subject and [concerning] an education in philosophy and citizenship’) (BS 09 October 2015).
26. In the following, I will only focus on arguments concerning the content of ERC and LEF. Of course, there are also several practical arguments against the introduction of these subjects, of which the arguments concerning the lack of well-educated teachers, teacher-training, and syllabi, are most common, both in Québec and in Flanders. (For the position of the teachers in Québec, see Morris, Bouchard, and De Silva Citation2011; Lavoie Citation2012. For criticisms of the ERC programme [and its implementation], see Andreassen Citation2011; Boudreau Citation2011, 22–222; Rymarz Citation2012).
27. Association des Parents Catholiques du Québec.
28. The more ‘mainstream’ Protestant churches were basically in favour of the deconfessionalization of the school system and of the RE programme. This is in fact not a big surprise: most Québec Protestant schools were schools with a multi-faith population and this required a programme that would reflect that reality. As a result, the vast majority of Protestant schools were teaching a moral and religious education programme that was ‘hard to identify as Protestant’ (Boudreau Citation2011, 217) and that was even seen, by many academics, as a model for the new ERC programme.
29. For a brief overview of the criticisms, see e.g. CitationEstivalèzes (2012b, 10–22, 2016); Milot (Citation2012, 54–56).
30. Before this agreement, there was almost no co-operation between the recognised religions with regard to RE classes. In addition, the co-operation between the different school networks (Community; Communal, urban and provincial) was, until very recently, rather unusual.