MONTREAL, Oct. 28, 2008 – The Catholic Civil Rights League today commented on poll results showing the majority of Quebec parents favour the right to choose between the Ethics and Religious Culture program, and denominational religious instruction. The mandatory ethics course began with this school year. The League urges the Quebec government to take heed of these results and give parents this choice.
An opinion poll carried out by Leger Marketing on behalf of the Catholic Parents Association of Quebec (ACPQ) shows that close to three quarters of parents in Quebec (72%) agree that parents should have a choice between denominational religious instruction and the new Ethics and Religious Culture (ERC) program. Sixty-eight percent of Quebecers
without children agree.
Mrs. Jean Morse-Chevrier, president of the Catholic Parents Association of Quebec, was delighted by these results: “We are pleased that people agree that parents should be able to choose a religious and moral instruction course for their children at school which does not conflict with their own faith. It should be stressed that, contrarily to what is sometimes said, people in Quebec do not agree with the compulsory nature of the new Ethics and Religious Culture course, taught since September this year in all elementary and high schools of Quebec. We think that the simplest way to answer the diversity of opinions about this course is to follow the collective wisdom expressed in this survey and to also allow denominational religious and moral instruction in schools.”
As far as the Quebec population as a whole is concerned, more than two thirds (69%) agree that parents should have a choice between denominational religious instruction and the new Ethics and Religious Culture (ERC) program. A quarter (26%) of the population at large disagrees with the fact that parents should have a choice between these two options, while 5% expressed no opinion on the topic or refused to answer.
Contact: For ACPQ
Mrs. Jean Morse-Chevrier, president
Catholic Parents Association of Quebec (ACPQ)
Phone: (514) 276-8068; Cell: (819) 661-7140
7400, boul. St-Laurent suite 406
Montreal (Quebec) H2R 2Y1
For CCRL:
Richard Bastien
CCRL Director, National Capital Region
bastien.richard@sympatico.ca
Nicholas Newman, MD
CCRL Director, Quebec Region
nicholasnewman@videotron.ca
Phone #s available through 416-466-8244
Information about the survey:
Question: Do you agree that parents should be able to choose between
denominational religious instruction and the Ethics and Religious
Culture course?
Results for the global Quebec population
Yes 69%
No 26%
Don’t know, refused to answer 5%
Results for Quebecers having a child or more
Yes 72%
No 26%
Don’t know, refused to answer 2%
Methodology
The Catholic Parents Association of Quebec commissioned Leger Marketing
to evaluate the perception of the Quebec population regarding the new
compulsory programme called Ethics and Religious Culture. The survey was conducted
between October 9 and 14 with 1076 people.
Using the latest data published by Statistics Canada, the results were
weighted on the basis of sex, age, region and mother tongue in order to
obtain a representative sample of the whole adult population of Quebec.
Finally, with a sample size of 1076 people, the margin of error is at
most ±2.9%, 19 times out of 20.