Abstract

The following is an exploratory study aimed at bringing back the focus of this debate on those who are primarily concerned with the issue of if, and how, religion should be taught in school: the students. Using an anonymous questionnaire, where ample space for personal comments was given, the author tried to discover what participants, mostly from age 15 to 17, thought of the religions they were exposed to both at home and at school. The author also wanted to know if those youths found in religion, an adequate expression of their spirituality and if exposure to different religions made them more tolerant to difference. This thesis complements, by its emphasis on the participants' experience, the corpus of literature available on the topic of religion in schools in the province of Québec, which mostly focuses on the legal or ideological aspects of this issue. Findings suggest that participants are much more concerned about issues such as the meaning of life, peace, social justice, and having harmonious relationships with others than what the media and popular belief portray. It also seems that they are curious about the ways in which different people believe and live their spirituality in their daily existence.