My first story on todays Supreme Court of Canada decision

Read the whole thing over at B.C. Catholic
 
OTTAWA (CCN)—The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that Quebec’s mandatory Ethics and Religious Culture program (ERC) does not violate the religious freedom of Catholic parents who wished to exempt their children.
 
The decision has drawn a cautious response from the Quebec Catholic Bishops and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB). They promise to study the decision and monitor further developments. 
 
But the Catholic Civil Rights League, the Christian Legal Fellowship (CLF), and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) have expressed disappointment with the decision. The League has called it a denial of parental rights.
 
The decision concerns the so-called Drummondville parents, known in the decision as L and J, who fought all the way to the Supreme Court for the right to have their children exempted from the mandatory course on religious freedom grounds. 

“L and J have not proven that the ERC Program infringed their freedom of religion, or consequently, that the school board’s refusal to exempt their children from the ERC course violated their constitutional right,” the decision said. 

 The Canadian Catholic School Trustees, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), the Christian Legal Fellowship and Liberties Association were among the interveners. 

At least 2,000 parents have asked to have their children exempted.   
   
The parents and several interveners argued the ERC is not neutral but indoctrinates children into a form of moral relativism.  The Supreme Court said the evidence does not support that view. The court also said Quebec’s education ministry does not promote a philosophy of relativism, or influence children’s beliefs.