Bill 21 Unveiled: Exploring the laicity debate through video content analysis


Rachel Rammal, McGill University

Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) secured victory elections in Québec’s election with a central commitment to secularize Québécois institutions. This culminated in the adoption of Bill 21 on June 17, 2019—an unprecedented legislation in Canada that prohibits public-sector employees from wearing religious symbols while on duty. The decision, affecting various roles including peace officers, judges, teachers, public servants, lawyers, and notaries, generated significant polarizations within Québec and Canada. This study employs video content analysis of Québec’s National Assembly parliamentary hearings to comprehensively assess the principles underpinning Bill 21. The analysis focuses on four key principles: 1) the separation of State and religions; 2) the religious neutrality of the State; 3) the equality of all citizens; and 4) the freedom of conscience and freedom of religion. Tracing the history of secular reform in Canada, the research highlights the rootedness of Western secularism in Christian doctrine. Dress scholars’ insights are leveraged to frame assumptions about professional judgment, religious attire, and inherent dress hierarchies expressed during the parliamentary hearings by various political actors. The analysis further explores how the legislation contributes to the disenfranchisement of minoritized religious communities, specifically veiled Muslim women. The content analysis reveals the persistence of a universal feminist ideology behind the veil-as-oppression rhetoric, as statements about gender equality frequently suggested assumptions about Muslim women’s agency and national boundaries. Moreover, during the parliamentary hearings, proponents of Bill 21 framed the project as a modernizing effort, drawing on Enlightenment philosophy and framing secularism and neutrality as a “social contract.” Importantly, the content analysis reveals ideological assumptions rather than empirical data motivating the bill. The discussion underscores the sociological implications of the bill, the urgency of understanding the risks faced by minoritized religious individuals before and after the legislation, notably how such legislation can give license to violence and discrimination. This study encourages a nuanced and evidence-based approach to approach the complexities of Bill 21 and its sociological impacts on religious freedoms and individual rights.

This paper will be presented at the following session: