Ethics and religious culture (Éthique et culture religieuse) is a course taught in all primary and secondary schools in Quebec. It replaces the abolished subject of religious/moral education in these schools and is compulsory in all schools: private and public. The aim of the subject is to develop ethical thinking and dialog skills in response to the changing religious/non-religious diversity of cultural communities in the Province. It also allows for all students to understand Quebec's religious history. (MELS ERC Curriculum LEARN QUEBEC) The program's twin paramount principles are Recognition of Others and Pursuit of the Common Good. It is also claimed that the course will promote a "culture of dialogue" among students The project was adopted under the liberal government of Jean Charest, and has garnered some controversy. September 2008 marked the inauguration of this course. In 2020, It was reported that the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government was going to replace the project. with a new curriculum which would shift the focus from religion toward culture and citizenship. Controversy The course has been opposed by three main groups: Secularists from the Mouvement laïque québécois (Quebec Secular Movement) because they believe that ethics and religious culture should not be taught within a single course ; also, they believe that teaching both of these subjects together induce people to think that it is not possible to behave ethically without any religious belief ; French nationalists who accuse the program of being a kind of Multiculturalism 101; The Coalition pour la liberté en éducation (Coalition for Freedom in Education), a coalition of parents drawn from different denominations who condemn the course for different reasons: they see it as relativistic, contrary to their faith. Many condemned the fact that the State is imposing a vision of morals and religion (or lack thereof), which has traditionally been the purview of parents. Court cases Two legal challenges were launched against the compulsory nature of this course. Public school exemption A court case against the ERC curriculum was heard from 11 to 15 May 2009 in Quebec’s Superior Court in Drummondville. Two Catholic parents were challenging the school’s refusal of an exemption for both their first grader and their sixteen-year-old who was in last year of high school. They were arguing that the course’s contents put their children’s faith at risk by being premature, relativistic and polytheistic, and teaching ethics detached from the parents' moral framework.