ListNook

BLiNKiN42 Apr 3, 2026 +2868

Street prayers, sure. But equal-access, non-denominational prayer rooms seem like an odd thing to ban.

2868

Gilga17 Apr 3, 2026 +1713

in quebec, it was decided that there would be no religion in our social services. So no prayer room, no religious teaching. Religion had a chokehold on household and decisions back then, at some point, the population extended the middle finger.

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BootFlop Apr 3, 2026 +570

That’s a funny thing. My wife grew up in Montreal area, her public school teachers were literal habit wearing nuns.

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aliquotoculos Apr 3, 2026 +129

I heard from an acquaintance that this was in part due to people shouting prayers at people that they did not approve of. Is that true?

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Ninevehenian Apr 3, 2026 +463

Why should religion be given a place in educational institutions? Religion should absolutely not have any power over education and giving it a foothold would be stupid. As a general principle it would be odd to permit prayer rooms at all. Non-denominational or not. In practice, it is also problematic. Can such rooms be kept non-denominational? How many religions would practically be represented? Are there other religions than islam that would want or need the room on a daily basis? What happens to the apostate? Will there be pressure if a kid of a muslim family chooses to not pray? Will his dad be told? Fair enough to say that it is difficult to ban people from sitting quietly, thinking in their breaks.

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Sacred-Lambkin Apr 3, 2026 +1031

I'm generally all for keeping religion out of public institutions, but this bill seems to go a step further and bans various religious indicators from people simply engaging with those public institutions. Like... Why should customers of a daycare not be able to wear their religious garb when they go to pick up their kids, or why should a student at University not be able to wear it when attending class?

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johnnybgooderer Apr 3, 2026 +2616

I’m an atheist and I don’t like this law at all. Let people be. But I don’t live there so my opinion doesn’t mean much

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s1a1om Apr 3, 2026 +642

I’m agnostic and agree with you. This seems excessive >The new law will also ban the wearing of religious symbols by daycare educators. The government is also extending this ban to teachers and staff at private schools. >However, there will be a grandfather clause for employees hired before Nov. 27, 2025. The full-face veil will be banned in daycare centres, CEGEPs, and universities for both those receiving services and those providing them.

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Sanige Apr 3, 2026 +1117

Hard disagree. Religion is a private matter and should as such only be practiced in private. People shouldn't be inconvenienced because of others believes.

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[deleted] Apr 3, 2026 +19

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Frankenstein____ Apr 3, 2026 +15

What does this mean?

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andonium Apr 3, 2026 +131

Who’s stopping in the middle of the road during prayer? I lived in a muslim country for 12 years and only saw this happen ONE time. Reckon you have never seen this happen.

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solvitur_gugulando Apr 3, 2026 +91

So institute noise ordinances and laws against stopping traffic, not restrictions on religious freedom.

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[deleted] Apr 3, 2026

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solvitur_gugulando Apr 3, 2026 +35

So pass laws against excessive noise and stopping traffic, then. By the way, I have no religion; I'm an atheist.

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Somnin Apr 3, 2026 +18

Your freedom to do what exactly?

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[deleted] Apr 3, 2026 +23

[deleted]

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Rithgarth Apr 3, 2026 +37

No, he's an idiot

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mumbai54 Apr 3, 2026 -13

My god we have that (aazan on loudspeakers) here in India and it’s annoying af!

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slick2hold Apr 3, 2026 -30

This indeed should not be allowed. If anything you do cause me harm, in this case loud music or prayers, then it not allowed and not protected speech. If I'm at a park or public space I can walk away...assuming the park is big enough. But even in public space you cant disturb the peace at will without a permit. Do all the prayers you want but just do it without interfering with my life and others. I saw a news story a while back about a town in Michigan that had these loud speakers blasting from a mosque. If I'm leaving in that neighborhood id be pissed.

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TheNumberOneRat Apr 3, 2026 -26

Loud announcements are one thing, but people stopping in the street is no big deal. I live in a dense city and people stop all the time for all sorts of reasons - it's part of life.

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ter4646 Apr 3, 2026 -949

I am a car owner. Should I be given access to a garage and tools to repair my car when I go to school?

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Umikaloo Apr 3, 2026 +226

I'm personally against this, but AFAIK, the justification is that they don't want publically funded institutions to have any religious connections. Quebec is really h******* when it comes to secularism, and though that tends to affect minorities significantly more, the rules ostensibly apply to all religions. The banning of street prayer is a step too far IMO. For someone who chooses to pray multiple times a day, it might have a similar impact to what happened during the pandemic when all the public washrooms were closed. It made just existing unreasonably difficult. Most public spaces do not have any secluded areas where people can go without paying nowadays, so I could see it being a huge obstacle to a h******* religious person wanting to participate in piblic life. Flashbacks to a year when exam season and ramadan arrived at the same time. I'm not muslim, and I was having a really hard time managing the workload. One morning when I arrived on campus, one of my muslim friends said "Fasting has been hard on you huh?". I had to admit to him that I was just tired and malnourished.

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Parking_Store Apr 3, 2026 +176

its 2026 keep your religious bullshit private and at home

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Temporary_Hall6382 Apr 3, 2026 +84

Awesome - much prefer this style of secularism.

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[deleted] Apr 3, 2026 -50

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maestromoss Apr 3, 2026 +84

What does prayer have to do with a secular learning environment?

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HerbertWest_81 Apr 3, 2026 +278

What do chapels have to do with a secular learning environment? Notice those aren't banned and many universities in Quebec have them.

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relephants Apr 3, 2026 +177

Did you not know that there are Chapels in many universities? How do you feel about that?

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[deleted] Apr 3, 2026 -5

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Umikaloo Apr 3, 2026 +54

Catholic schools in Quebec are all private institutions AFAIK.

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[deleted] Apr 3, 2026 -26

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[deleted] Apr 3, 2026 +8

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Additional_Quiet2600 Apr 3, 2026 +2

Tell me the difference between the call to prayer and church bells ringing? Because there is none.

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Ninevehenian Apr 3, 2026 -2

That question goes both ways, why should they get special laws against their everyday life? Why aren't laws being made to ban the everyday practice of christianity? Surely it would benefit all if churches weren't allowed and converted into habitation? That is pure logic.

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[deleted] Apr 3, 2026 +3

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Nightbal Apr 3, 2026 +15

Wait…that’s a very weird thing to say. Israel is a place, not a religion. Being anti Israel doesn’t mean anti Jewish. Also, how would being anti Israel be pro Islamic? There is an underlying assumption in your comment there that is both inaccurate and a bit disturbing

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[deleted] Apr 3, 2026 +10

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Nightbal Apr 3, 2026 +6

Again, you can be against a theocracy without being against its underlying religion. One can easy say that theocracies are corruptions of the underlying faith

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Quebec passes law banning street prayers, prayer rooms in universities, CEGEPs

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