Roman Catholic Religious Discourse about Manhood in Quebec: From 1900 to the Quiet Revolution (1960–1980)

Abstract

This article examines discourse about men in popular Roman Catholic literature between 1900 and 1960 in Quebec. From 1940 to 1960, particular attention was paid to the spiritual life of men, whose attitude toward piety was that it was women's—not men's—business. Catholic Action movements offered alternate models and masculine rituals for Christian life. Like the 19th and early 20th century Christian men's movements in the United States, these strategies attempted to counteract the “lack of manhood” in the churches. French Canadian movements, however, tried to attract men to the church by extolling the virtues of humble obedience. Partly influenced by feminism in the ‘60s, different pastoral issues surfaced in relation to men, and the older movements declined. While men's movements previously had recourse to symbol and ritual, symbolic activity declined in favor of productive activities. This raises the issue of the place of symbolism in the construction of contemporary masculinities.