Attire, accessory, and attitude donât change your religion
By Elliot Chan, Opinions Editor
How does one practice their religion? Do they practice in their house, church, temple, or cathedralâor could they do it while commuting to work? Surely they donât practice at work, right? Of course Iâm talking about Quebecâs charter of values and how, if it passes, civil servants will no longer be allowed to wear religious articles of clothing including turbans, kippas, and overt crucifixes.
Religion has played a large role in my life, and itâs not my intention to argue against it. Iâm not against religion. In fact, I wish I had faith. Sadly, although I was brought up as a Buddhist, I cannot honestly call myself one.
What I do want to express is a social commonality. That doesnât mean tolerance or intolerance, or being anti- or pro- anything; it simply means a culture we can all agree upon.
For example, my father is a smoker. When the regulation passed to have smoking banned in public areas, he became a monster and heâs notâheâs just a dude trying to relax. People who wear religious articles arenât monsters either, theyâre simply expressing their faith and practicing a tradition that theyâve known since they were young. It upsets some, but so does a bit of cigarette smoke.
âSuck it up,â some smokers said initiallyâthe same thing those advocating religious symbols in public sectors are saying now. âItâs not harming anybody.â
Harm is not the point. Commonality is the point; a mutual understanding is the point. If you entered an Asian personâs home, you would graciously take off your shoes. Thatâs a custom and an understanding. Your shoes are clean and it doesnât hurt anyone for you to keep them on, yet you do it out of respect.
Canada has an ambiguous culture. Itâs more of a mosaic than a mixing pot, and different communities have different conventions. Thatâs great, that should be cherished, and people should be delighted that we have such diverse communities.
But we need commonality as well to help establish a general culture as our cities, provinces, and country continues to grow. The mindset of Quebec isnât to alienate. Instead, theyâre trying to develop a central place to bring everyone together, where everyone feels welcome, and where no animosity is displayed. This is a good thing. And this is the first step towards having a province that really understands itself. It might feel ruthless, but in generations to come, youâll see that itâll bring them closer together.
I worked at Starbucks for over a year and I had to wear a green apron. I wasnât thrilled, because green isnât my colour. But I was under Starbucksâ roof, I was being paid Starbucksâ money, and the Starbucks customers recognized the standardsâthat was how they knew I worked there. It didnât make me who I was, it didnât change my beliefs that capitalism is just another form of slavery, but I accepted it because that was the corporate culture.
We might think that commonality is harmful; that it will cause us to lose our heritage and roots, but I believe itâll help us to understand our history better. Why do we do certain things âjust becauseâ? Commonality allows us to question our traditions, habits, ethics, and values and ask the ultimate question: are we doing the right thing? Am I actually less of a personâless myselfâif I go without certain things? Does it benefit the hive and not just the honeybee?
All through life, I have mistaken my wants with my needs. I get my priorities mixed up, and I feel many others have as well in regards to this religious symbols debate. Your ideals donât have to change, your personality doesnât have to change, and if it helps the general population approach civil servants with ease, I donât see why they shouldnât appeal to them. After all, have a little faith.
