Cultural politics pathology: the Charter of Québec values†
The paper argues that the Québec Government Bill 60, popularly known in English as The Charter of Québec Values, is symptomatic of a pathological strain in Québec's cultural politics.
A Tale of Two Liberalisms? Attitudes toward Minority Religious Symbols in Quebec and Canada
Abstract Proponents of restrictions on the wearing of religious symbols in public institutions in Quebec have often framed their support in the language of liberalism, with references to “gender equality”, “state neutrality” and “freedom of conscience”. However, efforts to account for support for restrictions on minority religious symbols rarely mention liberalism. In this article, we test the hypothesis that holding liberal values might have different attitudinal consequences in Quebec and the rest of Canada. Our findings demonstrate that holding liberal values is associated with support for restrictions on the wearing of minority religious symbols in Quebec, but it is associated with opposition to such restrictions in the rest of Canada. Moreover, this difference between Quebec and the rest of Canada in the relationship between liberal values and support for restrictions on minority religious symbols can explain Quebecers' greater support for restrictions. Résumé Les partisans de restrictions au port de symboles religieux dans les institutions publiques du Québec ont souvent formulé leur appui dans le langage du libéralisme, par des références à « l’égalité des sexes », « la neutralité de l’État » et « la liberté de conscience ». Toutefois, les recherches visant à expliquer les motivations des partisans de ces restrictions examinent rarement le rôle du libéralisme. Dans cet article, nous vérifions l’hypothèse selon laquelle l’adhésion aux valeurs libérales pourrait avoir des conséquences comportementales différentes au Québec et dans le reste du Canada. Nos résultats démontrent que le fait d’exprimer des valeurs libérales est associé à un plus fort appui aux restrictions au port de symboles religieux minoritaires au Québec, mais à une plus forte opposition à de telles restrictions dans le reste du Canada. De plus, cette différence entre le Québec et le reste du Canada dans la relation entre les valeurs libérales et l’appui aux restrictions sur les symboles religieux minoritaires peut expliquer pourquoi les Québécois appuient davantage de telles restrictions.
Kitchen Conversations: Democracy in Action at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum
Abstract This article describes the Lower East Side Tenement Museum9s ongoing public dialogue on immigration, the first in the United States. As she joins facilitators in reflecting on the importance of dialogue in a democracy, museum president Ruth J. Abram explains how and why the program was initiated, the obstacles that had to be overcome, and the public reaction to it. Kitchen Conversations represents the museum9s commitment to the proposition that historic sites must function as places of civic engagement, using the history they interpret as a starting place for dialogue on related contemporary issues.