28 August 2013 Montreal Please, Quebec, don’t let the proposed Charte des valeurs québécoises speak for you! I am an immigrant and a religious leader. I arrived here seven years ago speaking hardly a word of French. While learning French at the age of 49 was certainly a challenge, learning to love this province was easy. I have come to love the energy and the diversity of Montreal as well as the beauty and warm-heartedness of northern Quebec where I spend several weeks each year travelling and living in French. I consider Quebec to be my home and I cannot imagine living anywhere else. My days of travelling through Quebec and learning to speak French have been a wonderful revelation. I have met people who are warm, open-minded and curious. Some have travelled the world, and some live in isolated corners of the province where someone like me is quite a novelty. Often, people are curious about me as female clergyperson. Their only reference is the Catholic Church. “Wow! You can have women who are priests in your church? Do you serve mass?” they ask. People are intrigued when I explain that, yes, women can be clergy in my tradition, and that, yes, we have celebrations or services on Sundays, but they don’t look like a mass. They want to know more, and our conversations often extend into long hours over coffee or dinner. Frequently, the people I speak with are politely apologetic (and sometimes gently teasing) as they tell me to what extent they are “not religious”. Some tell me angry stories of their Catholic pasts, but many are several generations removed from the religion of their great-grandparents. Still, as our conversations unfold, we find that we do share common ground, common values, and a deep love for this province. When I use the word “religious” I am referring to my personal choice to live by certain values that bring me together with a loving community. These values are love, tolerance, equality, the freedom to question, a commitment to peace and to the earth, and the inherent worth and dignity of every person. What we believe can be very separate from our values. You can be an atheist or a believer in God and still value many of the same things. I find that people can be too quick to assume that when I speak of “religion” my understanding and experience cannot possibly be different from their own experience of religion. Their past experience closes them off from discovering who I really am. Seeing the trial proposal for a Charte des valeurs québécoises is heartbreaking for me as an immigrant and as a religious person. It signals to me that I may never be fully welcome in my chosen home. It tells me that people “like me” are something to be feared, a message that is so different from the warmth and welcome I have personally encountered. In my time here, I have met an incredible diversity of people, and my life has been especially enriched by some of the people who would be most affected by this charter. I have come to know Muslims, Jews, Aboriginals, Buddhists, Sikhs, Hindus and Christians who are working hard to make a difference in the lives of people in Montreal and Quebec. Many of them are active in social justice programs, helping the homeless, preventing domestic violence, or improving the environment. Some are immigrants who have come here to escape oppressive regimes in their homelands, and some proudly wear the symbols of their faith, be it a hijab, a kippa, a cross, a saffron robe, a ceremonial cloth or a turban. These are individuals making personal choices with no desire to force their religious faith on anyone else. They are outstanding human beings and citizens who bring so much to our communities. How sad it is that these individuals, who I know and respect, could be barred from public service because of the very freedom of expression that has long been guaranteed by this province. How painful it is to think that (according to recent polls) a large majority of people in Quebec would fear these individuals simply because of their appearance. I understand the hard story of the Francophone majority of Quebec. I understand the desire to strengthen identity here. But cultural strength comes from what is celebrated and cherished, not by what is forbidden. How I want to cry to you, Quebec, that you have so much to offer the world. You have creativity, ingenuity, humour, joie de vivre, a beautiful landscape, a fascinating history (where else in the world has there been a “revolution tranquille”?), great food, music and warm people. All this is so uniquely yours. It is your identity that brings us, as immigrants, to your shores. You have strength in what you are already. By legislating difference, you take away what is noble and welcoming about Quebec and you replace it with division and discord. Please, my dearest fellow Quebecers, reaffirm your most beautiful and honourable identity. Stand up and tell the world that you are not afraid of diversity; that what you have is strong enough to welcome difference; that you can engage in dialogue across culture and religion, that you can be enriched by the presence of others and still be yourselves. Do not let this proposed Chartre des valeurs québécoises speak for you. With love for Quebec, my home Rev. Diane Rollert Minister, The Unitarian Church of Nhc Montreal
Posted on: Thu, 29 Aug 2013 14:19:24 +0000
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