A Canadian government human rights law committee says celebrating Christmas and Easter could be considered a form of “religious intolerance.”
In a paper Published last month, the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) cited Christianity’s two highest holy days as examples of “ongoing systemic religious discrimination” because they are public holidays in Canada.
According to the discussion paper on religious intolerance released October 23, “discrimination against religious minorities in Canada is rooted in Canada’s history of colonialism,” which the paper said is at its “most obvious example.” on Canadian holidays. “linked to Christianity”.
Since Christmas and Easter are the only Canadian holidays linked to religious holy days, the report states that “therefore, non-Christians may need to request special accommodations to observe their holy days and other times of the day.” year when their religion requires it. refrain from working. »
Describing Canada’s history with “religious intolerance (as) deeply rooted in our identity as a colonial state,” the report appears to associate Christian churches with 20th-century efforts to teach 150,000 Indigenous Canadian children in “compulsory boarding schools.” » funded by the Canadian government. .
“In these schools, indigenous children were subjected to forced conversion to Christianity, with their spirituality presented as superstitious or a form of witchcraft,” the report said. “They were portrayed as inferior to justify the violence and discrimination carried out against them by the colonizers. »
The article goes on to highlight what it describes as Canadian social preferences, which are “constructed in ways that value certain traits or identities to the exclusion of others — for example, white, male, Christian, English-speaking, thin/ fit, non-disabled, heterosexual, gender-conforming.
Although religion is not defined in the Canadian Human Rights Actit is listed as one of the prohibited grounds of discrimination, alongside race, age, gender identity and others.
Some of the most common forms of religious intolerance, according to the report, include the use of physical or verbal attacks against religious symbols “such as hijabs, turbans and religious symbols.” kippahs.”
“When these symbols are attacked – whether physically or verbally – the violence and trauma are the same,” the newspaper claims. “This is compounded trauma resulting from the attack itself, coupled with the fear of being able to openly practice and represent one’s religion. »
The report also lists what it describes as “daily manifestations of religious tolerance,” including “microaggressions” that can range from verbal to “behavioral.” Some examples cited in the report include “scheduling team meetings on Jewish or Muslim holy days” and “assuming that a Muslim person is new to Canada.”
To combat religious intolerance, the newspaper recommends that Canadians familiarize themselves with “various religious or cultural days of importance that go beyond those linked to statutory holidays”, such as Christmas or Easter.
Highlighting “national and international obligations to protect Canadians” from religious intolerance, the report concludes by stating that “all Canadians must first recognize Canada’s history of religious intolerance and, more importantly, its existence today” in order to make Canada “more inclusive and more inclusive”. accepting.”
Despite rhetorical calls for religious inclusion, Canada sparks controversy adopted a law passed in January, known as the “anti-conversion therapy law,” that essentially condemns the biblical view of human sexuality.
Bill C-4, passed unanimously, states that the biblical view of sexuality “propagates myths and stereotypes about sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, including myth that heterosexuality, cisgender gender identity, and gender-conforming gender expression assigned to a person at birth are preferred over other sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions.
Ian M. Giatti is a journalist at the Christian Post and author of BACKWARDS DAD: a children’s book for adults. He can be reached at: ian.giatti@christianpost.com.
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