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Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction
The statement from the Catholic bishops seems to indicate it will apply to everyone. In practice though, things like crosses are easy to conceal. At the street level, I see way fewer obvious expressions of Christian symbols in public than other religions. Like I could walk outside, go to public building, and immediately identify a Sikh or Muslim based on religious apparel. Some religions are just less discreet. Identifying a Christian would be harder in most cases.
But there definitely is a slippery slope. Symbols like the Celtic cross or the yin yang have become stylish in secular settings and many people don’t think of them as religious. Or how many people think about the Christian symbols on the Union Jack, which is still on some provincial flags. Even the flour-de-lis on the Quebec flag is originally a religious symbol. I doubt they will ban it from public spaces though.
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It sounds like they are drawing a line between "Tradition" and religion. The article states, under the new laws, its okay to have a Christmas party, but you can't, for example, mention baby Jesus. I'm not entirely sure how that is supposed to work in practice. For example, could you light candles on a Menorah but just not talk about why you are doing it or say a prayer? Obviously, these rules only apply to public spaces, so you can do whatever you want in your home.
The major issue is that the province of Quebec was formed in a time when Christianity dominated and "tolerance" wasn't a practiced concept. So a lot these "traditions" are just Christianity.