THE LAY SCHOOL MOVEMENT IN QUEBEC SINCE 1840 by Jean ...

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THE LAY SCHOOL MOVEMENT IN QUEBEC SINCE 1840 by Jean Claude Charbonneau Facu1 ty of' Education .­ McGi11 University ABSTRACT Mastèr of Arts This study examined three organizations (the Institut canadien, the Ligue de l'Enseignement, and the Mouvement 1afque de langue f'roançaise) that, sinee 1840, have pushed f'or the secu1arization of Quebec society and more particu1ar1y its educationa1 system. The study was based upon the hypothesis that the three organizations were not successfu1 in attracting widespread support f'or the idea of' secu1ar schoo1s.

• roman catho1ic
• of' written
• sources of'
• procedure f'
• school system
• public school
• research has
• quebec
• langues
• langue

Sujets

• Dissertation
• Lafrenière
• Magnuson
• Charbonneau
• Québec
• Writing
• School
• Public
• Langue

Informations

• Publié par: erza0
• Nombre de lectures: 43
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 9 Mo

Extrait

THE LAY SCHOOL MOVEMENT IN QUEBEC SINCE 1840
by
Jean Claude Charbonneau
Facu1 ty of' Education .­
McGi11 University Mastèr of Arts
ABSTRACT
This study examined three organizations (the
Institut canadien, the Ligue de l'Enseignement, and the
Mouvement 1afque de langue f'roançaise) that, sinee 1840,
have pushed f'or the secu1arization of Quebec society
and more particu1ar1y its educationa1 system. The study
was based upon the hypothesis that the three organizations
were not successfu1 in attracting widespread support f'or
the idea of' secu1ar schoo1s. Whi1e the f'ai1ure of' the
Institut canadien and the Ligue de l'Enseignement was due
to the opposition of' the Roman Catho1ic Church whose
inf'luence pervaded a11 sectors of' Quebec 1ife, the Mouve­
ment 1a!que de langue f'roançaise, on the other hand, "f'ai1ed"
in the sense that its ideas were part and parce1 of' a
broader social revo1ution.
The research procedure f'ollowed in the study
invo1ved examination of' written sources f'rom the three
organizations, speeches (by the leaders), pamphlets and
book1ets pub1icizing their goals. A probe of newspaper
articles, books, and p~rsona1 interview were sources of'
additions1 inf'ormation. THE LAY SCHOOL MOVEMENT IN QUEBEC SINCE 1840
.; THE LAY SCHOOL MOVEJ.\oŒNT IN' QUEBEC SINCE 1840
Ey'
Jean Claude Charbonneau
A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies
and Research in partial fulfilment
of th~ requirements for the
deg~ee o~ Master of Arts
Faculty of Education
McGill Univers'ity
Montreal July, 1971
---_ .. _ ....... "' ....
®
Jean Claude Charbonn
. eau 1972
J AC KNOWLEDGEMENTS
I. wish to express g~atitude to my research
advisor~ Dr. Roger Magnuson~ Chairman of the Department
of Comparative Education, for his invaluable help and
.advice throughout this endeavor. His constant access­
ibility~ his suggestions and his patience are deeply
appreciated.
An interview with the secretary-general o~
the Mouvement la1~uede langue française, Mr. Charles
Lafrenière, was most helpful and informative.
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. :' TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
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iv LIST OF .tù?PE1i'])ICES .......... " ...... " ° .. " ...... ° .. " " 0 .... " " .... " ......
CEA?TER
INTRODUCTIORQVQOOOOOOOVQ~OOQOOOOOOOQ~Q~OQ l
Puruose of the StudY"" .. "oo .. "oo"""oooeoo 1
6 Sources and Procedu.re .. 0," 0 0 ........ " ...... " .... " "
8 II .. THE SCHOOL SITUATION J~OuIJD 1840"" .. 0" ........
III.. 14 L~INSTITUT C}LlL4.DIEN .... "" .... "" " ..... " ...... " .. " .. " .. '
IV. Iu-\. LIGUE DE L ~ ENSEIGNE}IŒNT .. " .. " ........ " " " .. " ... 59
LE MOUVEMENT LAÏQUE DE L..4.NGlJ"'"E FR.ANCAISE .. " 96 V"
Smill','L.'iRY AND CONCLUSION": ArT JœPRA.ISAL VIo
OF THE THREE ORGAlEZATIOlJS i INFLUEIWE
ON TI-ill ESTABLISEIT!IENT OF SECUL..4.R OR LAY
EDUCATION IN QU'EBEO""" ...... ., ........ "" .... "" .. .,,,,, ..
142 ltPPElIDICES e 0 e 10 00 tjt .. G <1 8'0 \) ., "" .QI G 0 0 " 0 Q Q; ~ Il e '" 0 0 Q 0 0 041 0 &il Q 0' "
BIBLI QG RAP~ • Il 0 0 Q 41> 0 ~. 0' C • fit e 0 QI '" Q; fil Q fit 0 G •• Q •• e e 0 '" e 0 CI g •• 156
iii LIST OF APPEl'Jl)ICES
A?PE1~IX Page
le Text of the Constitution of the
Instit-ù.t Canadien ................ ................ . e 142
II .. Import~~t Oîficers of the Institut
C a.:L'lao. ie no y Cil il 0 • Q • 0 ." '0 '" • g .0 0 • 0 •• 0. 0 .'. QI " • 0 e ..... 246
III. Text of the Constitution of the Ligue
de liEnseignement ..................................... . l48
IV. Partial List of Members of the Ligue
de l t Enseignemellt .................................... . l51
List of the IvILF i S O:ciginal Demal1.à.s ........ .. 153
VI. The Executive COmL~ittee of the
I~lliF (1961) ......... 41' •••• " •••••••••••••••• 155
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iv CHAl'TER l
INTRODUCTION·
l'urpose of the Study
The ~ur~0se of this study is to determine to what
1
extent three organizations of 1iberal intellectuels ·(the
Institut Canadien, the Ligue de l'Enseignement, and the
Mouvement laique de langue française). have contributed to
.the growing secularization of Quebec society and (more
particularly) education since 1840. The project is basic­
ally a documentary study inquiring into the vœitten sources
that have accumulated on these organizations. One author,
Jean-Jacques Jolois, has already made a study of the origins
of lay education in Lower Canada, covering the period between
1753 and 1844. In 1959, E.G. Finley Vlrote a substantial
dissertation on the origins and subsequent development of
Quebec~s dual-denominational public school system. This
work has been an important element in setting up the basis
for the present study.
While some research has been conducted on the con-.
fessional nature of Quebec·s educational system, or the
problem of Church-state relationship, there appears ~o be
an absence of systematic investigation of the different
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2
pressure groups that have tried te influence educational
reali ty in the Province of Quebec after 1840. This worlc,
therefore~ as far as the. wr.iter can determine, is the first
study to treat the re1ationshipef the organizations tbat·
have l1ushed for secu1arization ,of, educational insti tu­
tions in Quebec.
Education in the Province of Quebec bas been
characterized~ for more than a century, by the existence of
two para11el systems of public denominational schools, one
RomanCatholic, the other Protestant. After the Act of
Union in 1840, the Quebec legislature enacted a succession
of Bills which established the pattern for a system of pub­
lic education i.J.J. "t.u.e Prbvince. Until 1960, the fundamental
alJl1roach te educati'"'n in Quebec underwent very little
change. The princip1e of religious dissent became the
guideline along whi~h schools were organized. Under this
system, citizens ~a given area, whose religious opinions
differed from those of the majori~J, could vdthdr.aw from
the cerumon school and estab1ish their."own system. The end
resu1t was the creation in the Province of Quebec of a dual­
denominational public school system. The generally French
speaking Roman Catholics had their own sChools, while the
English speaking Protestants also set up their o\v~ public
school system. From the start, this situation was opposed
by those who favoureda single common public school system
for the Province."
,; 3
tl Thus the IILay School,Movement is def'ined in
this st~dy as periodic attempts over the years, by groups
and individuals~ to secularize an educational system
highly confessional in character and control. Three
organizations will be studied l'lere, the Institut Canadien,
the Ligue de l'Enseignement, ,and the Mouvement La!que de
langue Française, all' of'whom pushed f'or secular public
sc11ools"
In l844, the Institut Canadien was set up by a
group of French Canadians who questioned the commanding
position of the Church in Quebec education. ,Over a period
of twenty-five ye'ars the Institut called f'or Church-State
separation in all matters of civil life, but more particu­
larly it advocated the establishment of asecular public
sys"te~o:f. education. However the Institut Car.adien came
under heavy attack from the Roman Catholic Church. In 1868,
the Chuxch excommu~cated all members of the organization.
The Ligue d.e l'Enseignement was established in .
1902 when the Quebec Legislature rejected a bill that would
have provided for the secularization of' public education.
Like the Institut i t f'ailed-tcf attract-wtdespl"e'8.:d, support
for the secular school idea.
Between 1910 and 1960, the Church continued to
play a do~;nant role in public education and no organization
a:gpea::::-ed stronç; e ..... ough à.uring this period to seriously
1
Challenge its' ;ntluence. However the passage in 1943 of' the 4
Province's first compu1sory school attendance 1aw cou1d be
considered a qua1ified victory for secu1arists, Protestants
and 1ibera1 Catho1ics, because it constituted state inter­
vention into education.
In 1961, the Mouvement 1a!que de langue Française
(the French Language Lay Movement) was founded by a party of
more than 600 French Canadian intel1ectuals at the University
of Montreal. The organization advocated the secu1arization
of a11 sectors of Quebec 1ife