Canadian public schools have long been entrusted with the mandate of socializing children. Yet this duty can rest uneasily alongside religious diversity questions.

Grounding its analysis in three seminal Supreme Court cases involving religion in schools, Religious Diversity in Canadian Public Schools reveals legal processes that are unduly linear, compressing multidimensional conversations into an oppositional format and stripping away the voices of children themselves. Dia Dabby contends that schools are in fact microsystems worthy of their own consideration, and with the power to construct their own rules and relationships.

This compelling work connects many of the themes that have animated public discourse since multiculturalism was officially enacted in Canada. Situating its analysis in relation to concepts of nation, education, and diversity, Religious Diversity in Canadian Public Schools encourages a deeper conversation about how religion is mediated through public schools and invites a critical reassessment of the role of law in education.

Dia Dabby's profile page

Dia Dabby is an assistant professor in the Département des sciences juridiques (Department of Legal Studies) at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM). She is an active member of the Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire sur la diversité et la démocratie (CRIDAQ) and a co-editor of Modération ou extrémisme? Regards critiques sur la loi 21. Her work has also appeared in Studies in Religion, the Supreme Court Law Review, the Canadian Journal of Law and Society, the Dalhousie Law Journal, Religion and Human Rights: An International Journal, and numerous collections.

"Dabby presents a rigorous and convincing lesson to prepare and help individuals… for cases related to children and the religious diversity in Canadian schools."

Journal of Church and State

"A worthwhile read for those interested in religious diversity in public institutions as well as those interested in critical sociological legal methodology and theory—in particular those interested in relational theory or legal pluralism."

Canadian Journal of Law and Society