Councillors at two local governments in Victoria have emphatically pushed back against attempts to reinstate Christian acts of worship in government meetings, successfully arguing that religion should not be privileged.

Christian activists appeared at council meetings at the Bass Coast Shire and the Moyne Shire Council in early October and late September respectively, pressuring the councils to return prayers to the opening of formal meetings.

At Bass Coast Shire council, a church representative submitted a petition of 194 signatures and called for the return of the Lord’s Prayer, telling councillors that the “unfortunate move to secularise council meetings” had sent a signal to faith communities that they had “no place” in the community.

In voting 8-1 to reject the petition, the councillors that spoke did not hold back.

Cr Tim O’Brien said the petition was a “waste of time” for council to even consider.

“Australia is a secular country. You only need to look at the last census where only 43% of Australians identified as Christian. We’ve got multiple religions being practiced…

“I grew up a Catholic. I can do the full Latin Mass enchilada, if you like. But now, like many, many, many Australians – the majority of Australians – I’ve got as much religion as a cat. 

“I’ve got no doubt that the petitioners were sincere, but using the Lord’s Prayer for ‘publicly acknowledging the responsibility one has to the people they are serving’ is eyewash.”

Cr Ron Bauer argued that council should “leave the prayers and praying in the churches” and concentrate on council business.

“…I cannot state strongly enough how against the petition I am. This is a multicultural country. There are 1,500 religions and belief systems on the planet. Each one is as relevant as the next, including atheism. I do not see why we should privilege one above the other,” he said.

At the Moyne Shire Council, a Christian activist and resident of another council area waved the Bible in the air when she was given an opportunity to make a presentation to councillors about their August decision to remove prayers from meetings. 

Asked by a religious councillor whether people who sought to “cancel out Christianity” were “doing the work of the Devil”, the woman agreed and said people were either a child of God or the Devil.

“It’s one or the other. If you’re a child of the Devil, you’re easily deceived, you could easily be the tool of the Devil, because you’re ignorant,” said the woman.

In response, Cr Myra Murrihy said she did not appreciate being “likened to working for the Devil”.

“We are not taking a religion from you. We are becoming a more inclusive place for everybody in our community,” she said.

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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