Religious School in the West: the cultural black box

Abstract

This study relates to private schools in Quebec, which primarily shelter Muslim immigrant children. In Quebec, although society is delighted with its public education, which has become officially secular, the number of religious school has quickly increased after the events of September 11, 2001. The ministry of education counts 252 religious schools, which, in 2012, served 126,000 students^[1]. Often being called religious or ethno-religious schools, these institutions present the formal curriculum and claim to provide students with an educational environment that meets the requirements of the religious community in the land of immigration. However, Statistics Canada polls show that immigrant youth appear to be twice as likely to attend religious services as their Canadian peers^[2]. Hence, the role of these schools is often questioned, causing great concern about their roles and goals in a secular society like that of Quebec. especially with the rise of Islamist terrorism in West We use participant observations to describe the religious character of these schools, particularly the Muslim schools faith, and to understand their role in Quebec society through the ethnographic accommodation.

Keywords: School, religion, Islam, Identity, immigration

DOI: 10.7176/JEP/10-36-19

Publication date: December 31^st 2019

[1] Quebec Minister of Education (2012) Le fait religieux dans les écoles privées du Quebec, Comité de recherche, ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport, Quebec.

[2] https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/fr/daily-quotidien/171025/dq171025b-fra.pdf?st=rZRDbLBX