Canadian parents are to be forced to send their children to classes in ‘multi-culturalism’ after the Canadian 
Supreme Court found that the course did not violate the religious freedom of two Catholic parents.
According to Lifesitenews, among the other things taught by the Ethics and Religious Culture (ERC) course is that homosexuality is a normal lifestyle choice. The course has also been criticised for effectively teaching moral relativism.
The parents, known as L and J, fought for the right to withdraw their children from the Quebec ethics course on religious freedom grounds. The parents said they wanted to be able to raise their children in the Catholic faith, and the course would confuse their children and undermine their efforts.
However, the court said that the parents had not proved that the course harmed their children.
“L and J have not proven that the ERC program infringed their freedom of religion, or consequently, that the school board’s refusal to exempt their children from the ERC course violated their constitutional right,” the decision says.
The parents and several interveners argued the ERC is not neutral but indoctrinates children into a form of moral relativism. The court said the evidence does not support the view that the Quebec education ministry’s purpose is to promote a philosophy of relativism or influence children’s beliefs.
Denis Watters, the man who oversaw the ERC program for the Ministry of Education, has himself stated, “This is not a neutral program, and I will say it loud and clear: this is not a neutral program.”
However, Justice Marie Deschamps wrote that “exposing children to a comprehensive presentation of various religions without forcing the children to join them does not constitute an indoctrination of students that would infringe the freedom of religion of [the parents].”
“State neutrality is assured when the state neither favours nor hinders any particular religious belief, that is, when it shows respect for all postures towards religion, including that of having no religious beliefs whatsoever,” she wrote.
Groups representing Quebec parents reacted with dismay, according to the Catholic Register, a Canadian news website.
“Following this ruling, all parents who object to this course must demonstrate concrete harm it has caused to their children,” said Le Regroupement chrétien pour le droit parental en education (The Christian Coalition for Parental Rights in Education). “To qualify for an exemption, they must expose their children to the harm, obtain evidence and then seek an exemption after they have experienced this intrusion on their rights”, it said.
The group, which intervened on behalf of the parents, appealed to the government to reconsider the mandatory nature of the program that it said offends the beliefs and convictions of both parents and children.
About 2,000 Quebec parents have sought to have their children exempted from the course. La Coalition pour la liberté en éducation (CLÉ) pointed out that the parents never challenged the constitutional validity of the ERC, only the constitutionality of withholding exemptions.
CLÉ called the decision a setback for the rights of all Quebec parents against the power of the Ministry of Education. It called the demand that parents produce evidence of harm “exorbitant” for the average person.
The Catholic Civil Rights League, the Christian Legal Fellowship and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada also expressed disappointment with the decision. The League has called it a denial of parental rights.