In Montreal today, lawyers for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the National Council of Canadian Muslims told the court that the ban would cause irreparable harm if it is not suspended while a court challenge is heard on the merits of their case.
You know what makes things cool to kids? Banning them.
The article says that some Muslim kids are hiding to pray. You know what gives clout to religious conservatives? Martyrdom.
So by banning paying at school, you’re basically making it super cool and righteous. Give it a generation and it will be back with a vengeance.
You want to keep religion our of schools? Give them their damn airport-style multifaith chapel and make it boring and uncool to go there with cutesy multifaith “COEXIST” iconografy. Soon the cool kids will go back to hiding to smoke.
Unless I am very mistaken, this is not a ban on prayer. This is removing school support for said prayer. The rest of this comment just seems silly to me. ‘Cool Kids’ are not out praying in secret. And giving religious idiots clout is not something you can prevent. They will take it regardless of what you give.
The article says:
So in fact, it’s not that the law doesn’t allow schools to set up multifaith chapels, the law doesn’t even allow the principal to say “fine, use that closet for 10 minutes a day”.
And even though the minister had said people would be allowed to pray “silently and discretely” they have not been allowed to do so.
RE: “cool kids hiding”: they are reporting that some kids are hiding. In the eyes of their peers, this can become, over time, a badge of in-group coolness. If you don’t understand that, you haven’t been around religious teenagers. And yes, you can avoid giving religious extremists clout, by not making them into symbols and martyrs. You want their moderate peers to feel comfy enough to turn to them and say “take it easy bro, things are nowhere near as bad as you describe them”.
Look buddy, I’m a secular atheist. In this case, ultimately the law is just being dickish. Schools don’t have to officially support prayer, just tolerate it. Superstition is not going to be wished away. But if you keep a lid on it and don’t feed it with outrage, it just withers away.
My point is that there is nothing you can do to prevent this. And it is less important than sending the message to children that religion is not meant for public places like school or work.
Oh, I see. I guess I am done here. Cheers.
Cheers.
(No idea what the phrase “look buddy” triggered, but it’s all cool.)