Is secularism church-state separation or government neutrality in matters of religion? What does state religious neutrality look like? When the Supreme Court of Canada issues a ruling, is that the final word? What is the difference between a welcome, a traditional greeting, a cultural practice, and a prayer, especially in the context of indigenous nations and reconciliation?
Dr. Teale Phelps Bondaroff (@TealePB), research coordinator at the British Columbia Humanist Association, answers all these questions and more. His team at the BCHA contacted every municipality in British Columbia, Manitoba, and Ontario to determine whether they are in compliance with the Supreme Court of Canada’s 2015 Saguenay ruling, which unambiguously decreed that opening municipal council sessions with a prayer was unlawful. He describes how some municipalities try to sneak in religious content with “stealth prayer”, and why ecumenical prayers, non-denominational prayers, or rotating prayers from different religious groups, are bound to fail if the goal is to have an inclusive democracy.
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