Melançon: Time to remove religious names from our public schools |
“Guaranteeing a truly religion-free school environment.”
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These are the words used by François Legault’s potential successor, Bernard Drainville, to describe Bill 94, which bans the wearing of religious symbols in the public education sector, adopted when he was education minister last fall. The new law extends the scope of Bill 21 to include school janitors, cafeteria workers and even volunteers.
Melançon: Time to remove religious names from our public schools Back to video
Bill 94 recently came into the spotlight as it began to be enforced, leading to dozens of school staff losing their jobs because they refused to comply with the new rules and leave their religious symbols at home when going to work. It is estimated that, in the Greater Montreal area alone, up to 500 others could be laid off for the same reason in the coming weeks.
But is it really a “religion-free environment” when your school, despite prohibiting its employees from displaying their faith, still bears the name of a Catholic saint?
In the village where I grew up, near Joliette, the local elementary school is still called Sacré-Coeur-de-Jésus. That name is even carved into the stone facade of the building. Every morning, when children walk into their school, they see reminders of the profoundly religious past of their community.
And it is far from an isolated case. According to a list I compiled from various sources, out of nearly 2,000 public elementary schools in Quebec, more than 500 are named after a religious — most often Christian — figure. That means more than one in four public elementary schools in this province bears the name of a saint, biblical figure or former prominent member of the clergy.
And that’s just for elementary schools. Many public high schools and CEGEPs are in the same situation.
These names are remnants of a distant past when the all-powerful Catholic Church dominated Quebec society — including its education system — until the 1960s and the Quiet Revolution. Many of the province’s older schools were established by religious communities — nuns and priests that often gave them the names of saints associated with the local parish.
To this day, no one within the CAQ government seems to see this as an issue. But as the government ramps up its rhetoric about secularism in our education system, the contradiction appears as clear as daylight.
Hanes: Quebec's school secularism bill teaches students the wrong lessons
Bill 94: English school boards blast new secularism bill as an abuse of government power
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In the end, apart from a certain nostalgia, there is little reason to keep religious names for public schools in 2026.
But what should replace these names?
Why not turn this exercise into something that could bring communities together by celebrating people who made a significant local or regional contribution? Think, for instance, of former students who distinguished themselves in sports, culture or business — or stood out for becoming local elected officials or establishing community organizations in their home region.
These local unsung heroes are too often forgotten in our history books, yet their exemplary stories would certainly inspire younger generations. Schools could hold public consultations, involving students and parents in the choice of their new name, thus boosting community pride and creating new role models for future students.
And let’s not forget the importance of recognizing the immense contributions of women in the process. In 2020, only 10 per cent of public places, buildings, parks and streets in Quebec were named after women. Although some efforts have been made in recent years to honour more women who shaped our history, much work remains to reduce the gap and achieve a better balance between men and women in our toponymy.
“Secularism in our public institutions and schools is a non-negotiable principle,” Drainville said to justify his government’s recent decisions.
But if the Education Ministry wants to be consistent with that same principle, it should start by examining how public schools across the province are named. And by doing so, it could get rid of relics of a long bygone religious past to bring the names of hundreds of our public schools into the 21st century.
Raphaël Melançon is a public affairs consultant and political analyst. A former journalist, he previously worked as a political adviser at all three levels of government.