“Public” and “private” in the debate about “laicity" in Quebec

The Quebec Group on Contextual Theology--See my link--has begun reflecting on what “laicity” means in Quebec.  It is not a discussion we hear about much in the English-speaking world and it is often confused by English-speaking peoples with a discussion about secularity.  However, in point of fact, the two are not the same. Secularity has to do with the distinction between the sacred and the profane.  Laicity has to do very specifically with the way religion functions in the public (especially State) sphere. The debate has been long and heated in Quebec and some trace it back to the reaction to Catholic ecclesiastical influence prior to the Quiet Revolution in Quebec in the 1960s.

Axial Times Series

      I do a fair bit of translating, mostly from Spanish into English. The Latin American Agenda is probably the best known work I translate for. It is coordinated by a Catalan priest working out of Panama, José María Vigil. You can access it at  http://latinoamericana.org/English/ You will notice that a printed version is available from Dunamis Publications, that I coordinate. The past editions are available by clicking at the designated spot at the bottom of the page. It is a remarkable tool for adult education on a wide variety of topics. Each edition has 50 contributors from Latin America, many of them extremely well known like Leonardo Boff and Jose Comblin.