Saturday, January 22, 2005
Separation of Church and State
I just wanted to mention that I am not "against" Shariah law. I am against the combination of church and state. That is why I am happy to live in Canada. Of course, I know that historically, Canada's laws were often based upon religion (aka Chrisitanity) and society's morals. But Canada is slowly adjusting its laws to reflect our current understanding of equality, human rights and social justice.
I do not believe that religion belongs in our courtrooms or our classrooms for that matter. The government is responsible for these activities, and we have figured out (and are constantly fine tuning) how we want our society governed. The largest result of divorce (at least in North America) is poverty for women and children. It has taken many years to provide a fair approach to family law, which is still being implemented in our courts. As recently as 15 years ago, women had less rights than men in family law situations. We are just starting to get it "right", and our social justice approach should be available to any families who live here, regardless of their religion.
The same can be said for our government's treatment of families led by same-sex partners. The children in these families should benefit from equal treatment under the law. I remember how some friends of ours had problems registering their daughter because the computer system wouldn't recognize that parents could both be the same sex. The secretary of the school their daughter was attending thought they shouldn't make a "fuss". But it was important to them to have both of their names on their daughter's school information - they were both her mother.
I do not believe that religion belongs in our courtrooms or our classrooms for that matter. The government is responsible for these activities, and we have figured out (and are constantly fine tuning) how we want our society governed. The largest result of divorce (at least in North America) is poverty for women and children. It has taken many years to provide a fair approach to family law, which is still being implemented in our courts. As recently as 15 years ago, women had less rights than men in family law situations. We are just starting to get it "right", and our social justice approach should be available to any families who live here, regardless of their religion.
The same can be said for our government's treatment of families led by same-sex partners. The children in these families should benefit from equal treatment under the law. I remember how some friends of ours had problems registering their daughter because the computer system wouldn't recognize that parents could both be the same sex. The secretary of the school their daughter was attending thought they shouldn't make a "fuss". But it was important to them to have both of their names on their daughter's school information - they were both her mother.
