The pope’s visit put religion back in the news, which made it possible to confirm (if need be) that today’s Quebec is dechristianized. Vocabulary is no exception.
A well-known phenomenon, only the accessory has been preserved, that is, the terms of certain accessories of the cult, to express anger, disappointment, joy, admiration, etc.
This dechristianization of the vocabulary reaches such a point that we could misinterpret the expression “known as Barabbas in the Passion”, which, by the way, contains in itself two terms very little known today, replacing the first word by its opposite.
The Quebecer no longer preaches in the desert or for his parish. Nor is he parochial. Tadoussac replaced Jonas as the whale’s co-occurring. The unbeliever does not evoke Thomas for him. He never wears a Lenten face. He may suffer, but in this case he no longer carries his cross.
He no longer knows why people would undress Pierre to dress Paul. He does not understand what Jacques Parizeau was doing on the road to Damascus and wonders about these children of “heart” who are not.
However, our unexpurgated tales and legends still display some stigma of Catholicism; good and evil are dealt with there, the devil and hell occupy a place of choice. For this reason, when reading or hearing them, today’s Quebecers can sometimes feel a certain uneasiness and a kind of inner emptiness.
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