« Accommodements raisonnables » pour motif religieux : étude d’un débat public
This master’s thesis addresses the polemic that took place in Québec between March 2006 and December 2007 on the “reasonable accommodation” of religious minorities. Starting from a comprehensive perspective and a theoretical framework peculiar to the sociology of ethnic relations, it offers a two-pronged qualitative analysis of the open letters published in Québec newspapers. First, the various arguments made by participants in the debate are identified and categorized by means of thematic analysis. Second, a comparative approach is used to identify the various types of participants in this debate, taking into account both the nature of the ideological forces at work and their position on the most salient social-differentiation axes that structured the debate.  The results suggest that the polemic arose from a conflict between the various “identity markers” used to place ethnic boundaries. Moreover, it suggests that the polemic also gave rise to a reconfiguration of ethnic relations in Québec, due to the distinction between the debate on the nation-to-nation conflict and that on the criteria for inclusion in the nation.
Québec religion reasonable accommodation Québec popular discourse open letters ethnic relations religion