"Say a little prayer, but do it in private." Quebec is set to ban public prayer and religious garb in the name of "secularism." Muslims are upset. The editors of the Winnipeg Sun, dismissing freedom of worship as "nonsense," call the new law a "brave move" and a justified response to those who, especially post-October 7, have "shut down major highways to make a point." This is a classic overbreadth problem. If protesters are disrupting traffic, you prosecute traffic-disruption -- you don't ban public prayer. By contrast, our First Amendment tradition in the United States demands legislative means properly tailored to legitimate ends -- not the shotgun, "ban it all" approach of Canadian secularists. More broadly, our First Amendment reflects a counterintuitive idea that is actually borne out by lived experience and hard data: while religious differences tend to inflame societal divisions, religious freedom tends to defuse them. Quebec's militant secularism will only deepen religious conflict, not ameliorate it. "Say a little prayer" ... for our northern neighbors. They need it. winnipegsun.com/uncategorize…