The Rationalist Society of Australia is urging secular-minded Victorians to join in calling on the Victorian government to deliver on its promise to remove Christian prayers from the state parliament’s daily proceedings.
With Christian lobbyists currently targeting Premier Jacinta Allan with a letter-bomb campaign, the RSA is encouraging its Victorian-based members and supporters to write to the government to let it know there is strong community support for removing prayers.
The RSA wrote to Premier Allan and Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes yesterday (see letter below) to urge them to take action this year to deliver on the commitment the government made 911 days ago in August 2021.
The Australian Christian Lobby has this week orchestrated more than 2600 of its supporters to send letters to the Victorian government, arguing that the Lord’s Prayer must stay in the parliament because, as the lobby groups claim, it is “an important tradition for all Australians” and “serves to unite us as Australian regardless of faith”.
“These claims are demonstrably not true,” wrote the RSA’s Si Gladman, on behalf of president Meredith Doig.
“Far from uniting Australians, the imposition of religious worship in one particular religion has long been a divisive issue in state and federal parliaments across Australia. Numerous elected representatives, including presiding officers, have publicly called for removal of prayer. Many more feel excluded from parliament proceedings and feel that they have to stand outside of their respective chamber while prayers are taking place.”
Earlier this month Premier Allan revealed that she wanted to see parliament’s practices reflect the state’s cultural diversity.
In its letter, the RSA said Victoria had an opportunity to lead the way on this issue and argued that rapidly changing religious demographics across Australia would mean all parliaments would face the need for reform.
“Victoria has an opportunity to become the first state parliament in Australia to modernise its parliamentary practices to replace the anachronistic prayer rituals so that its parliament better reflects the community it serves. Like with the issue of voluntary assisted dying – for which Victoria was a leader in reform – we believe other states and the federal parliament will follow Victoria’s lead on this issue,” the letter said.
“All across Australia, parliaments will face a choice of continuing to mandate daily religious worship in a minority religion, or changing their practices to be more inclusive of all Australians and reflective of the diverse communities they serve.”
Early last year, Attorney-General Symes re-affirmed the government’s commitment to replacing prayers when she faced questions in the parliament.
Victoria’s new parliamentary year is due to begin on Tuesday 6 February.
The Rationalist Society of Australia is actively lobbying and advocating for prayer rituals to be replaced with more appropriate practices in councils and parliaments. See the latest updates here.
Si Gladman is Campaign & Communications Coordinator for the Rationalist Society of Australia. He also hosts ‘The Secular Agenda’ podcast.
Image: Jacinta Allan (Facebook)
Letter to Premier Jacinta Allan, 31 January 2024
Dear Premier Allan,
I’m writing to you on behalf of Dr Meredith Doig, president of the Rationalist Society of Australia (RSA). The RSA is Australia’s oldest freethought organisation promoting secularism, reason and evidence-based policy.
Firstly, congratulations on your recent appointment as Premier of Victoria. We wish you well in the role.
We were pleased to hear your statement earlier this month in support of making the state parliament’s procedures more inclusive and reflective of the community by removing daily Christian prayer recitals.
The parliament should be the most secular and welcoming of institutions in the state, with no particular religious worldview privileged and imposed on people of different backgrounds. Asking elected representatives – and staff and members of the public in attendance – to observe an outdated ritual of Christian worship at the opening of each day is neither secular nor welcoming of all Victorians. It is inappropriate in modern-day Victoria.
Given that the state Labor government has already made a commitment (in 2021) to replace the prayers with something more appropriate, we urge you to deliver on the promise this year.
It has been 911 days since Attorney-General Symes told parliament Labor would “commit to workshopping a replacement model that is purpose-fit for Victoria” if re-elected.
Victoria has an opportunity to become the first state parliament in Australia to modernise its parliamentary practices to replace the anachronistic prayer rituals so that its parliament better reflects the community it serves. Like with the issue of voluntary assisted dying – for which Victoria was a leader in reform – we believe other states and the federal parliament will follow Victoria’s lead on this issue.
We note that Christian lobbyists are arguing that the Lord’s Prayer must stay in the Victorian Parliament because, as they claim, it is “an important tradition for all Australians” and “serves to unite us as Australian regardless of faith”. These claims are demonstrably not true.
Far from uniting Australians, the imposition of religious worship in one particular religion has long been a divisive issue in state and federal parliaments across Australia. Numerous elected representatives, including presiding officers, have publicly called for the removal of prayers. Many more feel excluded from parliament proceedings and feel that they have to stand outside their respective chamber while prayers are taking place.
Also, Census figures show that a rapidly declining percentage of Australians even identify as Christian. Victoria is a state that is rich in diversity, with people from many faith and non-faith backgrounds. But the proportion of Victorians identifying as not religious has surged in recent decades, reaching almost 40 per cent in the 2021 Census. On current trends – and if the ABS removes the inherent bias from the Census religion question, as it is proposing to do – then the percentage of Victorians identifying as not religious will not only surpass all Christians but likely reach about 50 per cent of the population. At the 2026 Census, Christianity will decline to be between 30-40 per cent.
All across Australia, parliaments will face a choice of continuing to mandate daily religious worship in a minority religion, or changing their practices to be more inclusive of all Australians and reflective of the diverse communities they serve.
Momentum for change is also building across the country at local government level, with a large number of councils – including Boroondara, Gippsland South, Mornington Peninsula, and City of Greater Bendigo in Victoria – having, in recent years, removed prayers from their formal meetings. We understand that about 40 councillors across Victoria have now signed an open letter to the Victorian government asking that it intervene to stop councils requiring prayers as part of their meetings.
We urge you to lead the way on this reform and, once again, have Victoria set an example for other states and other levels of government to follow.
Regards,
Si Gladman
Campaigns & Communications Coordinator, Rationalist Society of Australia