Removal of religious exemption from the Canadian Criminal Code; is it such bad thing? A few thoughts to consider

The Canadian government may remove a religious exemption to the Criminal Code that says “no person shall be convicted of an offence . . . if, in good faith, the person expressed or attempted to establish by an argument an opinion on a religious subject or an opinion based on a belief in a religious text.” 

The government is considering doing that because they need the support of other parties to pass Bill C-9, the “Combatting Hate Act. The Bloc Québécois has indicated it is willing to support the Bill—if the religious exemption is removed. 

This move—which is not yet finalized—is being criticized by religious groups, which say it could have a chilling effect on clergy and others who fear sharing traditional teachings could be seen as hate speech. 

But philosopher Gary Gutting says that history shows that it’s a good thing when governments limit the harm religion can cause—like how states in Europe in times past passed laws against jailing and executing people because they had a different set of beliefs. 

Or, as Arnold Neufeldt-Fast, a theologian and dean at Tyndale Seminary, put it: It’s not such a bad thing when governments remind Christians and others “not to weaponize their sacred texts to incite hatred.” 

Read my latest column in the Winnipeg Free Press.