The NSW Greens have renewed a push to abolish Christian prayers in state parliament, saying the tradition is "absurd" and alienating to the general community.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Prayers, along with an acknowledgement of country, are read at the opening of every NSW parliament sitting day - a tradition dating back to 1934 that's also followed in other state and territory parliaments, as well as the federal parliament.
"I think it is absurd," Greens MP Abigail Boyd told AAP of the tradition.
"When I worked at Kmart, we did not have to stand and listen to The Lord's Prayer before we opened all the registers up," she added.
"I think most people in the real world think that it is quite extraordinary."
Momentum to remove the Christian tradition from public institutions is growing across the country, according to Rationalist Society of Australia president Meredith Doig.
"People are wanting change, and that includes change to the tradition of privileging one religion over another," Dr Doig told AAP.
NSW councils including Shoalhaven and Wagga Wagga had already opted to switch to a moment of quiet reflection, she said.
In Victoria, the Mildura Rural Council has received a motion from councillor Jodi Reynolds to replace prayer with an affirmation.
Recent statistics showed less than half the population was religious, she told AAP.
"A prayer is something that is said in your home (or) in your church. The council chamber is a workplace," Ms Reynolds said.
The tradition also stifled diversity on the council, she said.
"The more diversity that you can get in any governing body ... the more that chamber can represent your community, the better decisions you make."
The Rationalist Society will host a webinar about the push to remove prayer from public institutions on Wednesday night.
Ms Boyd previously launched an unsuccessful motion to have the prayer removed in 2019, opposed by both Labor and the government.
Any motion to remove the prayer from Australian parliaments would not be supported by Liberal MP Tanya Davies.
"It is a reminder to all MPs to serve with humility, conviction, compassion, justice and equity," she told AAP.
A spokesperson from NSW Labor said they did not support the motion.
Motions to alter the tradition were stridently opposed by outgoing Labor MP Walt Secord, whose office was inundated with calls against the idea when it was first floated.
"Surprisingly adherents to non-Christian faiths, including Hindus and Muslims, saw it as an attack on all people of faith, not just The Lord's Prayer," he said in 2019.
Australian Associated Press
