1. The Catholic Church played a dominant role in founding and shaping society in New France from 1534-1763, establishing churches, hospitals, and schools and slowly organizing the Canadien population. 2. Following the British conquest in 1763, the Catholic Church gained protection under the new regime and became the guardian of the political status quo in Lower Canada and Quebec from 1791-1867. 3. In the 1960s, Quebec underwent la Revolution Tranquille or the Quiet Revolution, which significantly secularized society through prioritizing secular state institutions and reducing the Church's social role, leading to dramatic declines in religious affiliation and practice.

1. ROMAN CATHOLICISM &
POLITICS IN QUÉBEC
THEO 343
TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2016
SAMUEL FARRUGIA

3. HISTORY OF QUÉBEC
1. NEW FRANCE (1534 – 1763)
2. BRITISH NORTH AMERICA (« LOWER CANADA » & « QUÉBEC » )
(1791 – 1867)
3. THE QUIET REVOLUTION (1960s)
4. RECENT CHALLENGES

4. NEW FRANCE
(1534 – 1763)

5. 16TH-CENTURY
RELIGIOUS UPHEAVALS IN EUROPE

6. A NEW WORLD…
TO EVANGELIZE

7. JACQUES CARTIER (1491 – 1557)

9. JESUIT MISSIONS

10. CANADIAN MARTYRS

11. JEANNE MANCE (1606 – 1673)
• 1642: among the founders of the city of Montreal.
• At the age of 38, she was in charge of the city’s
finances, food supplies, tools and merchandise.
• 1645: establishes Montreal’s first hospital,
l’Hôtel-Dieu (3840 Rue Saint-Urbain).
• Recruited Catholic religious sisters (nuns) to help her
run the hospital.
• Marguerite Bourgeoys (1620-1700) was a nun who
founded the first school in Montreal in 1658. She
was canonized in 1982.
• Mance & Bourgeoys are known as « the mothers of
the holy city of Ville-Marie (Montréal) ».

12. FRANÇOIS DE MONTMORENCY LAVAL
(1623 – 1708)
• 1659: arrived in New France and
founded the Séminaire de Québec in
1663 for the formation of priests.
• In 1659, there were only 2,200 habitants
(colonists) in New France.
• 1674: the Diocese of Québec is
created and Laval becomes its first
Bishop at the age of 36.
• April 3, 2014: canonized by Pope
Francis.

14. THE BRITISH CONQUEST
• 1755 – 1764: Seven Year’s War (« French
and Indian War »; « War of the
Conquest »).
• September 13, 1759: Battle of the Plains
of Abraham (Fall of Québec).
• September 1760: Capture of Montréal.
• 1763: Treaty of Paris ends the war. This
treaty and the Quebec Act of 1774
guaranteed freedom of religion for
Catholics in British North America.

15. FRANCE
+
BRITAIN
=
CANADA

16. THE
FRENCH
AND
INDIAN
WAR

17. NEW FRANCE (1534 – 1763)
1. The social institutions of New France (churches, hospitals,
schools, etc.) were founded by Roman Catholic believers
(priests, nuns, monks, missionaries, etc.) for the express
purpose of furthering the Catholic faith in France’s portion of
the New World.
2. During this period, the Catholic Church could largely be
described as a missionary enterprise, slowly structuring itself
and the Canadien society of which it was part. Indeed, so
many priests were graduating from seminary that many were
sent elsewhere in North America and the world as
missionaries. In 1960, there were 5,000 Québécois
missionaries serving around the world.

18. LOWER CANADA &
QUÉBEC
(1791 – 1867)

19. BRITISH
NORTH
AMERICA
(1820)

20. 18TH-CENTURY REVOLUTIONS
1776 1789

21. QUEBEC CONSERVATISM
KING GEORGE III
OF ENGLAND
POPE
PIUS VI

22. LOWER CANADA & QUÉBEC (1791 – 1867)
1. Following the Conquest, the Bishops of Québec support the
British Regime, and are given a free hand when it comes to
the internal governance of the French-Canadian population.
The free practice of Catholicism is assured, as is the French
language and the use of the French code of civil law.
2. By supporting the British Regime and enjoying its protection,
the Catholic Church in Québec became the guardian of the
political status quo.

23. FOUNDING PROVINCE
OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA (1867)

24. THE QUIET
REVOLUTION
(1960s)

25. MAURICE DUPLESSIS (1890 – 1959)
• Prime Minister of Québec (1936-39; 1944-59); 5
terms of office.
• Leader of Union Nationale party (Conservative).
• « The Great Darkness ».
• Placed schools, orphanages and hospitals in the
care of religious orders of the Catholic Church.
• « Heaven is Blue, Hell is Red ».
• Duplessis Orphans. 20,000 « orphan » children
were falsely certified as mentally ill in order that
the religious orders caring for them could receive
more money in federal subsidies.

26. WHAT HAPPENED?
• Québec was once North America’s most strongly anchored local
« Christendom ».
• Québec is now North America’s most highly dechristianized
society.
• Highest rate of divorce and cohabitation in Canada. In 2002, more
than half of all births were to never-married mothers.
• Between 1971-91, marriage rates plunged by 49 %.
• APPROVAL OF:
• Euthanasia: 77 %
• Abortion as a personal choice: 80 %
• Weekly church (Catholic) attendance in 2009: 9 %

27. WHAT HAPPENED?
SECULARIZATION THESIS
• Working class alienation.
• Secularist ideologies.
• Urbanization & industrialization.
• Cultural pluralism.
• Expansion of the state and
displacement of the Church from
its social roles.
« INTERNALIST » PERSPECTIVE
• Michael Gauvreau
• A lack of clarity on what the
Church is and on how one should
live as a Christian caused the
Church to implode.
• « paradigms of discourse »
• Due to a lack of credible
ideological enemies within
society, competing Catholic self-
definitions tended to combat each
other.

28. WHAT HAPPENED?
• Jean Drapeau: mayor of
Montreal (1954-57; 1960-86)
• 1966: inauguration of the
Montreal Metro.
• 1967: International and
Universal Exposition.
• 1976: Summer Olympics.

29. WHAT HAPPENED?
• Nationalism: Québec’s « coming of age » and
self-assertion over against the influence of
both English Canada and the Catholic Church.
• 1960: election of Jean Lesage as Premier of
Québec. State control of social institutions
and programs. Creation of Ministries of
Health Care and Education.
• 1968: formation of the Parti Québécois by
René Lévesque.
• 1976: Election of René Lévesque as Premier of
Québec.
• Sovereignty referendums (1980; 1995).
• 1991: formation of the Bloc Québécois.
• 2000: deconfessionalization of schools.

30. NOW WHAT?
• Religious & cultural pluralism.
• Bouchard-Taylor Commission
(2008).
• Québec Charter of Values (2013).
• « New Evangelization »