Divorcing the Church: A Life Course Perspective to Secularism among Senior Franco-Catholic Women in Québec

• In Event: Sociology of Sex and Gender Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 18. Religion and Social Change

Abstract

Senior women’s life course experiences provide a unique vantage point to study the gendered history of secular politics in Québec. Based on 15 life history interviews with Franco-Catholic senior women and 5 interviews with their kin, I argue that the secularization of Québec society created new forms of agency for Catholic women as they aged. While they grew up under strong Catholic influence and patriarchal norms, secularization in mid-life offered freedom through access to divorce and sexual autonomy. With increased immigration, in later life, these women used laïcité as a disciplining tool against minority religious practices. By developing a typology of laïcité, I show how senior women become active protectors and reproducers of Québécois nationhood. They draw on nativist, prejudice, liberal feminist, and neutral conceptions of laïcité to police racialized religious minorities’ belonging. Thus, Québec secularism—once progressive for Catholic women—transforms into a racial project that excludes minorities.

Author

• Jessica Stallone, University of Toronto