The reaction to Quebec Premier Francois Legault’s decision to ban displays of religious symbols in specific areas of the public service has been swift and mainly critical. Although the National Post’s Andrew Coyne has raised some valid observations in his April 2ndcolumn, his mention of only “Muslims, Sikhs, Jews” tends to overlook the reality that there are 20 large religions in the world as well as an ongoing increase in the number of people, estimated to be in the hundreds of millions, with no religious affiliation. Perhaps an argument could be made by atheists that their freedom of thought is affected by those overtly exercising their freedom of religion. This ongoing back and forth about religious freedom always seems to be directed toward a win-lose outcome. While religion can be a source of comfort for some people, history has shown it can also be manipulated for other less noble purposes. Wouldn’t the world be a lot safer and peaceful place if everyone kept their religious beliefs and its various accoutrements for home and places of prayer, away from the public domain?
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