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Zak
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Posts by Zak
New poll finds Ontarians support elimination of Catholic schools.
May 18th
The Forum Research survey also found more than half of Ontario residents — 53 per cent — oppose the public funding of Catholic schools with 40 per cent supportive and 6 per cent unsure.
As the issue of gay-straight alliances dominates debate around new anti-bullying legislation, the poll concluded people are accepting of the anti-homophobia clubs designed to promote tolerance.
Fifty-one per cent agreed that students in publicly funded Catholic schools should be allowed to form clubs under that sometimes contentious name with 28 per cent opposed and 21 per cent undecided.
The GSA issue is big if we can make good use of it. Atheist groups CFI:Canada and the Canadian Secular Alliance cosponsored a rally last weekend yet I found it annoying that all of the focus has been on forcing the Catholic schools to accept GSAs rather than acknowledging the real problem that Catholic schools are funded in the first place.
But since the government is proposing laws that reduce the influence of Catholic beliefs within the separate schools, having the public wonder why we’re keeping the two systems apart is a valid end game. Why attack separate schools on moral or anti-religious grounds when simple economics might do the trick?
via Toronto Star
Lahey (finally) stripped of clerical duties
May 18th
The Holy See in Rome has dismissed Raymond Lahey from the clerical state in what is one of the most serious penalties that the Roman Catholic Church can impose, the Diocese of Antigonish, N.S., said Wednesday.
The decision means Lahey, a former bishop of Antigonish, can no longer work as a cleric nor preside at any religious services or sacraments.
Caught with child porn in 2009 but the church waits until 2012 to strip him of clerical duties?
I suppose he could have been innocent (ignoring that his diocese already paid $15 million to sexual abuse victims) but the church isn’t known for evidence based decision making so if they cared, they could have expedited the process. More likely they waited until the courts were settled and then rubber stamped the eviction to avoid embarrassment. No need to be hasty and do it sooner, since he could have gotten off on a technicality and the church could have him back to work the next day.
via National Post
It’s a beautiful day in the neighbourhood
May 9th
University of Toronto biology professor Larry Moran has new neighbours.
The Dean knows me. She is well aware of the fact that I’m a prominent defender of evolution in the war against creationism. She also knows that I am an atheist who doesn’t shy away from the the conflict between science and atheism. She probably doesn’t know that I’m a strong supporter of the Centre for Inquiry and adviser to the University of Toronto Secular Alliance.
I put posters and banners on the wall outside my door advertising atheist events and I often post articles promoting evolution over creationism and science over religion.1 I’ll be putting up even more posters in the near future since the Faculty of Medicine has decided to send me the very people who need to hear my message.
What can you do with neighbours like this? Have some fun? Bite your tongue and get along? Multifaith centres are always dominated by Muslims so the place should only be busy on Fridays (although Muslims who lobby universities to pay for their space are the types who need to pray five times a day which could get disrupting).
Larry will plaster his doorways with opposing arguments which is probably the best solution although I’d ramp up the passive aggressiveness and fill my entire wall with Extraordinary Claims posters so my new neighbours would get the point. Maybe a giant sign that says ‘KEEP RELIGION OUT OF SCHOOLS, PLEASE’.
Convenient hypocrisy
Apr 27th
Chris Selley wonders why Canadians put the heat on our politicians who want to open the debate on abortion while at the same time allowing publicly funded schools to push a pro-life agenda.
But that’s the greatest part of stories like these. While politicians cower, the Catholic system all but rubs their noses in the Vatican’s brand of social-conservative activism. [Catholic School board trustee Bruce] Campbell reminded the Post that, “hundreds of [Catholic] students every year attend the March for Life,” and that, “the concept of pro-life is ingrained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which affirms life begins at conception.”
“In Catholic schools there is a culture of faith-related, social-justice activism,” Mr. Campbell told Xtra! earlier this week. “[Catholic schools do not support] activism that is not in keeping with the tenets of the Catholic Church.”
It’s a good comparison. Politicians need to be called out wherever possible but why so silent when the schools we fund push their students to support the same ideas? Maybe Canadians are just lazy. Simply mocking politicians who have unpopular religious beliefs is easier than trying to stop unpopular religious actions. Sad.
No more prayer at Sask. high school
Apr 26th
The school in Middle Lake, near Humboldt, is planning for this year’s graduation and one student suggested that they no longer have someone say grace prior to the dinner.
According to Ange Nantau, her son Jake does not follow a religion and suggested, instead of grace, that they have a moment of silence before the graduation meal.
Nantau said not long after Jake made the suggestion, her son was the target of vandalism.
Good news. University prayers are dropping like flies around the country so it’s time we spread the godless love to high schools. Are high school prayers common? I don’t remember any back in my day and I lived in a super conservative WASPy town.
Nantau said the controversy, and the reaction, have only reinforced her son’s view of organized religions.
“It’s part of why my son chose to be an atheist,” she said. “He has gone to school with kids who profess to be Christians and then their behaviour does not show that outside of school, outside of their church.”
Unfortunately, this kid is getting the crash course on religious hypocrisy but maybe it’s for the best. It’s the same kind of stupid that will follow him around for the rest of his life.
via CBC
School Choice
Apr 26th
Scott Rowed discusses school choice.
Choice means discrimination against teachers based on their religion. Catholic teachers can work in either the separate schools or public schools. Teachers from other religions or no religion need not apply to the Catholic system, even though the jobs are fully funded by public taxes. In the publicly-funded private and alternative schools run by evangelical churches, choice means that teachers must believe that the earth is less than 10,000 years old, and that evolution is a myth. If you’re a science teacher who happens to accept, well, science, you don’t stand a chance. Pastors make the hiring decisions for these government-funded positions.
While he’s specifically talking about Alberta’s separate schools, the same logic applies to all provinces who still fund the discriminatory system.
A point worth emphasizing is the idea that while Catholic schools don’t have to discriminate (they regularly admit non-Catholic students), the fact that they can allows them to only accept good students. Catholic schools often have better test scores than its public counterparts not because it is a better system (as its defendants want you to believe) but because of its privilege to keep bad students out.
Clergy Residence Deductions
Apr 26th
Your taxes are due in a few days so here’s an annual reminder that members of the clergy don’t pay income taxes on their residences simply because they’re in the profession. This year the clergy resident deduction is hidden on Line 231 in the general T1 form (as opposed to the T1 Special that most people use) so you probably won’t notice it. Since I’m lazy and nothing else has changed, I can quote me from last year.
Keep in mind the clergy deduction isn’t a simple tax credit like transit passes, education expenses, or charitable donations that only credit you around 15%. Deductions from your net income decrease your taxable income which, in Canada, can mean thousands of dollars a year in reduced taxes. For example, a small town minister earning $35,000 a year likely wouldn’t have to pay any taxes because the clergy deduction would put his taxable income below the basic personal amount.
Why are ministers allowed to avoid paying any taxes? Religions have always enjoyed avoiding taxes as a result of their charitable status (see Day 2 for details) but this is a tax break on the personal incomes of members of clergy. We certainly have our objections to the procedures and practices of all religions, but this is referring to the personal income taxes of one particular profession. If you want to be a priest, that’s fine, but pay taxes on your income just like everyone else.
According to the rules, a minister is defined as someone who:
- is authorized or empowered to perform spiritual duties, conduct religious services, administer sacraments and carry out similar religious functions. Religious functions may include participation in the conduct of religious services, the administration of some of the rituals, ordinances or sacraments, and pastoral responsibilities to specific segments of the religious organization;
- is appointed or recognized by a body or person with the legitimate authority to appoint or ordain ministers on behalf of or within the religious denomination; and
- is in a position or appointment of some permanence.
It seems like a loose definition. It might allow Michael Payton and Justin Trottier (Canada’s only full-time employees who work for an atheist organization) to deduct their living expenses.
Bigfoot Shoes
Apr 25th
A Montreal sculptor, Maskull Lasserre, makes shoes that leave quite an impression.
Explaining the idea behind the unique project he said: ‘I spent a lot of time in the Canadian woods and countryside growing up and I loved recognising the traces of animals that share that environment.
‘Living now in the city, I found a strange kind of loneliness seeing only human shoe prints in the puddles and snow.
‘This project was my way of introducing a sort of mysterious possibility to the urban landscape, for those who happened upon it.
‘But I admit that I just couldn’t resist making a Bigfoot track.’
When the shoes are available to the public, skeptic groups everywhere should hit the trails, if only to mess with people.
Edmonton minister ignores laws
Apr 25th
Catherine Flamond, 52, had argued in a written Charter notice that the provincial civil laws do not apply to her because she is a Christian minister bound only by God, the Queen of England and the Constitution Act of 1982.
However, Provincial Court Judge John Henderson dismissed the constitutional challenge on Friday after ruling that the Alberta Traffic Safety Act applies to “every single person” who operates a motor vehicle in the province.
Not sure why she’s allowed to obey the constitution but not provincial law given that the constitution outlines provincial powers but religious logic isn’t know for it’s coherence.
The judge dismissed the claim so we can breathe easy for now. While it’s easy to mock this minister for her silly sense of entitlement, the same arguments against her can be used against the funding of Catholic schools and tax exemptions for the religions, for example.
Should religions follow the same laws as everyone else? Yes, and they generally don’t claim they shouldn’t even though their actions and claims of entitlement suggest otherwise. Don’t let them get away with it.
via Edmonton Sun
Tough economic times
Apr 24th
The Greek orthodox church is facing problems as its cash-strapped government begins cutting spending.
Under a 60-year-old treaty, the state agreed to pay priests’ salaries in exchange for large amount of church property, including land. But this means more than 10,000 priests are now on the government payroll, putting a 190 million euro (US$250-million) annual burden on the country’s overstretched budget.
Under the terms of an international bailout that saved Greece from bankruptcy, the government is cutting pay which for a typical parish priest is about 1,000 euros a month. Athens will also fund only one new priest to replace every 10 who retire or die, causing shortages in remote parishes during a deep recession when the flock most needs help.
It’s a good time to point out how secularism benefits everyone. We don’t have to fund stupid beliefs while religions don’t bankrupt the country. It isn’t the most convincing argument since no one wants to give up their own subsidies but comparing religious funding to big auto and banking bailouts should score us a few points.
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