The Rationalist Society of Australia has urged all new federal Labor MPs and senators to advocate for change on the parliamentary prayer issue, telling them that it was a matter of fundamental human rights.

In a letter to the 27 incoming members of parliament, RSA Executive Director Si Gladman said, unless the Standing Orders were changed, both the House of Representatives and Senate would ask them to observe acts of Christian worship, including the recital of the Lord’s Prayer, at the opening of each day.

According to data published recently about the new Labor politicians in a feature series by The Saturday Paper, 18 identified either as not religious (nine) or did not answer the question on religious affiliation (nine).

They will attend their first sitting week in Canberra this week, with the new term of parliament beginning on Tuesday.

In the letter, Mr Gladman noted that a number of Labor politicians have been pushing for removal of the daily Christian prayers, including: Senator Sue Lines, who said she wanted the practice gone when she became President of the Senate in 2022; Tim Watts, who labelled the practice as “not appropriate”; and the late Peta Murphy, who used to hold silent protests outside the chamber while the prayers took place.

“Observing acts of Christian worship in parliament is alienating for many members of parliament, staff and members of the public in attendance. It sends a message to the wider public that one faith tradition is privileged and that people of non-Christian and non-religious backgrounds are not welcome in our nation’s most important institution of democracy,” wrote Mr Gladman.

“The practice also fails to reflect the immense religious and non-religious diversity of modern Australia. Indeed, at the next Census in 2026, Australians identifying as not religious will likely overtake Christians.”

Mr Gladman told the MPs and senators that the RSA viewed the matter as one of fundamental human rights, as the practice of imposing religious worship infringed on the rights of non-religious Australians.

In May, the RSA wrote to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to urge him to address the issue.

Last month, it asked the new Greens’ leader, Senator Larissa Waters, to push, early in the new term, for modernisation of Standing Orders to remove Christian prayers or replace them with more appropriate practices.

In the first week of the new parliament under Mr Albanese in 2022, senior Labor leaders publicly rejected President Lines’ call to remove prayers.

Later, a Liberal National Party member, in an interview on Christian radio, credited Speaker Milton Dick for ensuring that daily prayers continued to be observed in the House of Representatives. 

Almost 8,000 people have signed an online petition by the RSA. Also, a petition submitted to the House of Representatives gained more than 3,000 signatures in 2023.

The Rationalist Society of Australia is actively advocating for prayer rituals to be replaced with more appropriate practices in councils and parliaments. See the latest updates here.

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

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