Faith, Rights, and Choice: The Politics of Religious Schools in Canada

The Canadian provinces have evolved quite different ways of responding to the policy problems posed by religious schools. Seeking to understand this peculiar reality, Faith, Rights, and Choice articulates the ways in which the provincial governance regimes developed for religious schools have changed over time.

Covering nearly three centuries, the book begins with the founding of schooling systems in New France and continues into a variety of present-day conflicts that emerged over the question of religion in schools. James Farney and Clark Banack employ a method of process-tracing, drawing on 88 semi-structured interviews with key policy insiders. They also reference archival material documenting meetings, political speeches, and legislative debates related to government decisions around issues of religious education. Relying on the theoretical foundations of both historical institutionalism and Canadian political development, Faith, Rights, and Choice presents a new analytic framework to help make sense of the policy divergence witnessed across Canada.

James Farney is the Regina academic director and an associate professor in the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Regina.
Clark Banack is the director of the Alberta Centre for Sustainable Rural Communities and an adjunct professor of political studies at the Augustana campus of the University of Alberta.