Organisers of Anzac Dawn Services should meet with non-religious veterans and community groups to understand how the imposition of Christian acts of worship as part of the commemorations alienates many people, the Rationalist Society of Australia has said.

In commemorating Anzac Day yesterday, the Australian War Memorial in Canberra and organisers in a number of capital cities again imposed one religious tradition – Christianity – in their Dawn Services.

At the Australian War Memorial, a Christian chaplain presided over large segments of the event, leading the gathered crowd in numerous acts of Christian worship, including the recital of the Lord’s Prayer.

Similarly, Dawn Services in other capital cities – including at least in Adelaide, Perth, and Sydney – featured exclusively Christian chaplains conducting acts of worship in their religious tradition.

In contrast, Melbourne’s Dawn Service at the Shrine of Remembrance was again a largely secular affair, with no religious chaplain participating and no prayers offered.

Speaking today, Si Gladman, the Executive Director of the Rationalist Society of Australia, said the Australian War Memorial and other organisers – including state-based branches of the Returned & Services League (RSL) – needed to listen to the concerns of the public and non-religious veterans.

“We know that Dawn Service organisers will soon be going through reviews of their Anzac Day events. They need to take on board the concerns of veterans and members of the public who say the imposition of one religious worldview is alienating and putting them off wanting to attend Anzac services,” he said.

“Anzac Day is not a Christian day of commemoration. It’s a national day for all Australians. It’s incredible that our national war memorial’s Dawn Service and commemorations in other capital cities fail to reflect this.

“The content of Dawn Services – especially those held at our nation’s most important memorial – should meet public expectations. Clearly, in their current form, they do not.”

In recent weeks, many veterans have voiced their support for the Rationalist Society of Australia’s advocacy for secular reform of Dawn Services, sharing their experiences of feeling alienated by the religious nature of the commemorations.

In Crikey on Thursday, a veteran – writing anonymously – asked why it was that the non-Christian majority was “required to participate in religious tradition in order to pay their respects to the Anzacs”.

In The Guardian yesterday, columnist Paul Daley wrote that an “abundance of Christianity” in Anzac Day services “stands to emotionally and culturally isolate more and more people”.

Leading up to this year’s Anzac Day, the Rationalist Society of Australia wrote again to organisers of the main Dawn Services in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Perth, and Sydney, raising concerns about the religious nature of their past Dawn Services and inquiring into the planned religious content for this year’s event. 

Only the organiser’s of Brisbane’s Dawn Service at Anzac Square – the Anzac Day Commemoration Committee – replied and acknowledged the concerns.

In March, the Australian War Memorial turned down a request from the Rationalist Society of Australia to hold a meeting with secular and non-religious community leaders and veterans to discuss the matter.

Previously, the Rationalist Society of Australia called for the War Memorial to take full responsibility for the Dawn Service to ensure it could meet public expectations.

The War Memorial outsources responsibility for the conduct of the event to the ACT branch of the RSL, which last year suggested people could attend “numerous alternative services” if they felt excluded and discriminated against.

Last year, the Director of the War Memorial, Matt Anderson, told the Rationalist Society of Australia that “traditions move slowly”.

Since February, more than 1000 people have signed an online petition calling for the War Memorial to stop imposing Christianity.

The Rationalist Society of Australia is actively lobbying and advocating for secular reform of the Defence Force and military commemorations. See the latest updates here.

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Si Gladman is Executive Director of the Rationalist Society of Australia. He also hosts ‘The Secular Agenda’ podcast.