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The political modernization of Quebec in the 1960s meant that the close identification of French Canadian identity with the Roman Catholic faith was replaced by a new secular nationalism. Using David Martin's A General Theory of Secularization, I examine the reaction of the Catholic Church to its own loss of power and to the rise of this new secular nationalism. Conservative Catholics first condemned the new nationalism; by 1969 some conservative accepted the new society and even supported its state interventionism. Most important Catholic groups, including the hierarchy, the most dynamic organizations, and largest publications came to accept the new society. Inspired by the religious reforms of the Second Vatican Council and new papal social teaching, they affirmed the right of Quebeckers to self-determination and social justice. The Church created a sustained ethical critique of nationalism as a means of redefining its public presence in Quebec society. The consensus around this ethical critique and redefinitions of the Church role is evident in the participation of Catholic groups in the 1980 referendum on sovereignty-association.

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