Kitchener, Ontario
                                               February 24, 1995

To the editor, K-W Record:

Richard Taves' Feb. 23 letter, "They Don't Mix",
is both xenophobic and illogical.
He decries the mixing of "religion and politics" that is supposedly
fostered by "certain minority groups coming to Canada".  But he
then gives as supposed examples of this "abolishing the Lord's
prayer and restricting celebration of Christmas at schools."

In fact, it is precisely when the State compels recitation of
the Lord's Prayer, or endorses the claims of one religion over another,
that religion is mixed with politics.   Canada is not a Christian
theocracy, and it cannot compel observation of Christian religious
practice.  That is why, in the 1955 Chaput v. Romain
case, the Canadian Supreme Court ruled that, "In our country there
is no state religion."

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees everyone the
freedom of conscience and religion.  But it does not guarantee the
right of Christians to impose their religious beliefs on the
rest of us.  

Modern secular democracies, where state and religion are kept
scrupulously separate, are the places where all systems of belief
can best flourish.  Perhaps Mr. Taves would feel more at home in a
state like Iran, where religious observation is compelled by
the government under penalty of law.



Jeffrey Shallit