What bothers me about this perspective is the implicit assumption that everyone who thinks that public displays of religion should be banned is actually motivated by racism, rather than recognising that somebody can be against this for non-racist reasons.

That is not push on a non-racism way in Quebec. Like I said they don’t want to use the law equally, they want to use it specifically against Muslim.

And so far, from my perspective (that is a confirmation biais), no one debate the idea without a racist undertone

The prayer part is irrelevant. They’re being a danger and an asshole.

Nothing wrong with public prayer, even a large gathering. I’m an atheist, and as long as no one is causing a health or safety issue, fuck it.

Praying doesn’t ruin the world. Just like having a party, or a poetry slam, or Shakespeare in the park.

It’s behaviors that cause health or safety issues that are the problem.

Well I don’t feel very comfortable in a space like that personally.

Praying in PUBLIC is like having sex in public. Don’t.

Sorry, can you expand on the ways prayer is like sex? Are people praying with their dicks out in your vicinity?

Do you feel that you should be able to hold hands with a same sex partner in plain view of everyone else when you make them uncomfortable?

Do you feel that you should be able to be trans in plain view of everyone else when you make them uncomfortable?

Maybe people being uncomfortable is not a good yardstick for determining what people can do in public.

It’s personal and private and children shouldn’t be exposed to it. It’s not wrong, and you can do it, but keep it away from me and mine.

Have you considered being less nosy? Minding your business?

I’m no lover of religion but I love this culture policing even less.

The context made it so that people conflates the two.

Medias and public debates pretty much always framed the issue of religion in public as a racist thing (in order to get more views) instead of only talking how the CAQ government targetted non-christian religions with their bill.

Sure, you can be against it for authoritarian reasons as well. Disturbing.

So someone praying before a meal is an equivalent obscenity?

Then don’t be in that space?

So you feel the same when a bunch of people are meditating? Same action, really.

I would say about the same number of people are offended by profanity in public as they are religious acts in public. Moreover, I would estimate the number who are offended by sex acts in public is much higher than either of these. So, for the sake of other people’s sensibilities, shall we ban public profanity?

I don’t really see how that’s related. Even if it were motivated by racism, that’d be equally authoritarian to any other motive, since authoritarianism is about ceding rights from individuals to the government and it doesn’t matter what the motivation for that is.

live and let live. your discomfort is all your own.

Religion has been used time and time again to justify committing atrocities and still used as such today.

There is a legitimate debate to be had about the religion’s place in a society.

That’s my issue as well with the bill. Just look at the crucifix at the Assembly. They didn’t remove it, they just moved it outside the room. If the intent of the law was really to remove religion from the public space, it wouldn’t have been a debate about keeping the crucifix in the Assembly.