Prayers in government

Government meetings should be inclusive and welcoming for everyone. Governments should not have favourite religions.

Reciting a Christian prayer at the start of meetings is exclusionary. It means that many elected representatives, staff members, and members of the public who do not belong to the favoured religion are made to feel unwelcome, excluded, and like second-class citizens.

Government institutions are supposed to represent and serve all Australians. They should be promoting inclusiveness and be welcoming of all people. No one should be made to feel like they don’t belong in a government institution in Australia just because of their religious or non-religious beliefs.

Privileging one religion is especially problematic. The Australian community is diverse and made up of people who adhere to a great variety of religious belief systems and people who, increasingly, identify as not religious.

In regard to prayers in local councils, a peer-reviewed legal analysis published in the Alternative Law Journal in 2021 concluded the practice of local councils incorporating prayers into their formal meetings was unlawful.

We know many MPs and Senators in the federal parliament are opposed to the recital of prayers in parliament, choosing to wait outside the chambers while the prayer is recited rather than be forced to participate in a ritual against their values and beliefs.

In 2018, the Australian Senate reported that there was no “momentum for change”. However, there is clearly now momentum for change across the country on this issue.

In 2022, the new President of the Senate and atheist, Sue Lines, said she wanted to see prayers “gone”. She argued “…if we are genuine about the diversity of the parliament we cannot continue to say a Christian prayer to open the day.” Read our response here.

In 2022, Tim Watts told the parliament that, as an atheist, he thought the prayer was inappropriate. Watch our video of his comments here.

In 2023, 21 councillors from across Victoria signed a joint letter to the state government, calling for it to take action on the issue. Read their joint letter here.

At state level, the Victorian government has promised change, and members of parliament in South Australia and New South Wales have indicated they will raise the issue.

In August 2021, The Age newspaper’s editorial argued that the Victorian parliament should remove the prayer ritual: “Victoria has changed for the better since 1918 and is a more welcoming and diverse community. It’s important Parliament reflects and supports those changes.”

Even religious figures are saying publicly they don’t think the Lord’s Prayer is appropriate in parliament. In 2022, Reverend Michael Jensen, of the Anglican Church, said: “I am not wedded to the Lord’s Prayer and it doesn’t cook my breakfast either. I mean, I am wedded to the Lord’s Prayer, but not particularly having the Lord’s Prayer said in parliament.”