A pilgrim prays after lighting a candle prior to an open-air mass conducted by Pope Benedict XVI in the vast esplanade of the Aparecida basilica, at National Sanctuary of Aparecida, in Aparecida do Norte, some 180 km north of Sao Paulo, Brazil, in this 2007 photo. Photograph by: x , x

MONTREAL — The more you're exposed to different religions, the more interest you likely have in your own faith.

The finding, from a fall opinion poll of 2,400 Canadians for the Institute for Canadian Studies, appears to contradict the claim that exposing children to different beliefs undermines their connection to their own religious tradition.

Last week, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected an appeal in a landmark case by Catholic parents from Quebec who sought to have their children exempted from the province's compulsory ethics and religious cultures course.

The appeal was launched by a Drummondville couple who said the course would expose their children to "forced, premature contact with a series of beliefs that were mostly incompatible with those of the family" and would have an "adverse effect on the religious faith of the members of the family."

The top court rejected that stance, saying that while parents are free to pass their personal beliefs on to children, teaching youngsters about different cultures and religions does not infringe freedom of religion.

The "early exposure of children to realities that differ from those in their immediate family environment is a fact of life in society," Justice Marie Deschamps wrote.

The opinion poll, conducted Oct. 3-5, by Leger Marketing, appears to support the top court's statement that exposure to different faiths does not interfere with people's own religious traditions.

In fact, folks who are familiar with different cultures and faiths are more likely to profess interest in their own traditions than those who are not.

Among respondents who strongly agreed with the statement, "I have a good knowledge of the cultural values and religious beliefs of some other cultures," 68 per cent said they were interested in the history of their own religious or ethnic community.

However, among respondents with little knowledge of other cultures and religions, only 19 per cent said they were interested in the history of their own religion and culture.

The poll's results show that learning about different faiths does not detract from interest in one's own particular religious tradition, said Jack Jedwab, executive director of the Association for Canadian Studies.

"I don't believe there is a zero-sum relationship, in which the more you focus on diverse religions, it detracts from the particular promotion of one faith," Jedwab said.

"It is actually reassuring for those parents who are concerned that exposure to other religions may undercut interest in or knowledge of the specific faith with which they identify," he said.

People with a good knowledge of other cultures and religions also were more likely to have a high level of knowledge about their own religious community and culture (78 per cent) while among those with little knowledge of other religions and cultures, only 23 per cent had good knowledge of their own.

People familiar with other cultures and faiths also were more likely to feel confident interacting with people from an unfamiliar culture (84 per cent) than people without that knowledge (33 per cent).

Results of the Internet poll were said to have equivalent accuracy to a telephone poll that is accurate within 1.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Montreal Gazette

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