The Canadian Jewish Congress has recommended to Jewish parents in the province of Ontario that they ask that their children be exempt from religious instruction in the schools. In a statement issued here, the Congress pointed out that such exemption may be requested by individual parents under the Ontario legislation which provides for religious instruction in the public schools of the province.
The Congress reiterated its opposition to the religious instruction program on the grounds that it “violates the principle of the separation of Church and State, fosters division and segregation and works a hardship upon parents, teachers and children who cannot, for reasons of conscience, accept the demands of the regulation.”
It also directed attention to the provision in the law which permits individual schools and school boards to secure exemption from the religious education program. The statement adds, however, that “it is recommended that only in communities where there is a distinct likelihood of achieving exemption should representation be made to the board to act upon its right of exemption as a board.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
