Support for a "code of conduct" for minorities is one of the paradoxes found in our poll about issues related to reasonable accommodation. Part 3 in a five-day series, Identities.
Quebecers think of themselves as tolerant, open-minded people. They think immigration is a good thing and that minorities have a strong role to play in society.
But beneath the surface, many fear the changes that immigrants and other minorities bring - especially non-Christian ones, according to a wide-ranging poll commissioned by The Gazette of attitudes over the reasonable accommodation debate.
There's also a paradox: Some of the very same Quebecers who say we are strengthened by cultural and religious diversity also say immigrants should be more like the majority.
Seven out of 10 Quebecers say Quebec society has been enriched by diversity, that immigrants should have as much say in the future of Quebec as anyone, and that minorities should be given a chance to take part in public decisions, the Lger Marketing poll of 1,001 Quebecers found in late August.
The flip side of the picture was less encouraging.
One in three people polled said Quebec society is under threat by the arrival of non-Christian immigrants, two out of five said Quebec society is changing too fast because of the minorities living here, and more than half said immigrants should abandon their customs and traditions and be more like the majority, the poll found.
An even higher proportion - 58 per cent - said Quebec should adopt a "code of conduct" for minorities to follow when it comes to practising their religion and culture - the kind of code the village of Hrouxville did last year that stirred up a storm of controversy.
The poll reveals a passive double standard: a large majority of Quebecers disapproves of open expressions of religion, unless it's Christian.
"There's a large reservoir of guilt among French Canadians about the rapid rejection of Catholicism during the Quiet Revolution - that's a fact," said sociologist Morton Weinfeld, who runs McGill University's Canadian ethnic studies program.
"And an easy way to assuage that guilt is by symbols - it's what I call religion-lite," Weinfeld said.
"People say, 'We don't have to go to church, we don't have to follow the dictates of the church, but we're very comfortable with all the visual imagery around us that reminds us of our heritage and reinforces our identity.'"
On specific issues, the poll found that Quebecers on the whole are against non-Christian accommodations:
They don't think Jews or Muslims should get time off work to pray (72 per cent are against).
They don't think religious minorities should get special meals at a traditional cabane sucre (69 per cent).
They don't want the government to subsidize religious schools (67 per cent).
They don't want Muslim women to walk around with their faces covered (63 per cent).
They don't want Muslim teachers to cover their hair with a hijab (61 per cent);
They don't want Muslim girls to wear the hijab in school (61 per cent).
And they don't want prayer rooms in colleges and universities (59 per cent).
About the only thing they are willing to concede is hijabs in public. Two in three - 66 per cent - think it's OK for Muslim women to dress like that.
But when it comes to the most common expression of the Catholic religion - the crucifix that's displayed seemingly everywhere in Quebec, in schools, in nursing homes, in the National Assembly, Quebecers are happy it's there. About six out of 10 - 59 per cent - approve of keeping crucifixes on the walls of public schools.
"Quebecers widely agree that diversity enriches Quebec society but they're much less at ease when this diversity is expressed through religious symbols coming from outside Catholicism," said Lger research vice-president Christian Bourque, who oversaw the survey.
Jack Jedwab, executive director of the Association for Canadian Studies, analyzed the Lger data for The Gazette. Co-relating people's answers to the poll question, Jedwab found that even those who say they're most open to religious and cultural diversity draw the line at public displays like hijabs, while approving of crucifixes in school.
For example, of the people who totally agree that diversity enriches society, only 22 per cent completely accept Muslim girls wearing hijabs in school. And of those who have no problem with crucifixes in schools, only 25 per cent would allow hijabs to be worn there, either by students or teachers.
The most worrisome part of the poll is that a majority of Quebecers appear to favour some kind of "code of conduct" for minorities, Weinfeld said.
"It's troubling, because there's an action component to it - people want the government to regulate the problem. That attitude reflects a certain kind of tatisme in Quebec, which may include telling minorities how to live. It's objectionable, it's unconstitutional and it violates the Charter (of Rights and Freedoms)."
Media blow issues out of proportion, many say Minority cultural and religious practices have received considerable attention in Quebec recently. Do you think the following groups have exaggerated, reacted appropriately or not taken the matter seriously enough? Reacted Did not take Exaggerated appropriately seriously enough
Quebec majority 26% 46% 24%
Quebec minorities 45% 31% 17%
Quebec Liberals 13% 42% 34%
Action dmocratique 26% 37% 21%
Parti qubcois 15% 43% 30%
News media 55% 30% 12%
*Where the total polled on a certain question does not add up to 100%, the remaining respondents did not know or refused to answer.
Crucifixes, hijabs: controversial symbols
When it comes to the place of religion in Quebec society, do you completely or somewhat accept, somewhat or completely oppose the following? Allow crucifixes on the Muslim girls wearing hijabs wall in a public school in public schools Accept Oppose Accept Oppose 59% 40% 39% 61%
Of those who completely accept crucifixes in schools, only 25 per cent completely accept that hijabs be worn there.
Of those who completely oppose crucifixes, about 56 per cent also completely oppose the wearing of hijabs by Muslim girls in school.
*Where the total polled on a certain question does not add up to 100%, the remaining respondents did not know or refused to answer.
Region by region: eastern Quebec stands out
When it comes to the place of religion in Quebec society, poll
respondents say they accept the following, region by region: Quebec Montreal City *CMA CMA East Centre West
Muslim women in public wearing the hijab, the veil covering only the hair but not the face. 67% 68% 62% 61% 67%
Crucifixes on the wall in a public school. 54% 65% 70% 53% 65%
Prayer facilities in colleges or universities. 42% 50% 32% 36% 42%
Muslim girls wearing hijabs in public schools. 43% 41% 33% 32% 38%
Muslim women in hijabs teaching in a public school. 41% 36% 34% 38% 36%
Muslim women in public wearing the full-face veil. 36% 39% 31% 32% 39%
Subsidies for private religious schools. 33% 32% 24% 30% 36%
Special meals for religious minorities at the cabane sucre/sugar shack. 32% 31% 21% 26% 31%
Allowing Muslim or Jewish workers time off to attend Friday prayers. 33% 26% 17% 14% 34%
*CMA: Census Metropolitan Area
The Poll: Methodology, Design and Analysis
Lger Marketing polled 1,001 Quebecers by phone from Aug. 22 to 26. Respondents were 18 years or older and were able to express themselves in French or English. Using Statistics Canada data, their answers were weighted by region, age, gender and mother tongue to make the poll representative of the entire adult population of Quebec. The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
All the numbers cited in stories and charts in the Identities series are taken from the Lger poll.