The Rationalist Society of Australia has called on the Albanese government to ensure that Christianity does not again dominate the Anzac Day Dawn Service at the nation’s war memorial.
In a letter this week (read below), the RSA’s Si Gladman told veterans affairs minister Matt Keogh (pictured) that important national remembrance commemorations, such as Anzac Day, should be secular and welcoming and inclusive of all Australians.
“They should not resemble church services. Continuing to privilege Christianity in these events risks alienating many Australians, especially veterans and current service personnel,” he wrote.
In late 2022, a spokesperson for Mr Keogh told the RSA that events such as Anzac Day were “welcoming to all” and recognised the diversity of the Defence Force workforce and Australian community.
Mr Gladman’s letter pointed out that Christian rites and traditions dominated last year’s Anzac Day Dawn Service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. The service, which was mostly presided over by a Christian Defence chaplain, included a Christian hymn, a dedication with reference to God, prayers of commemoration, the Lord’s Prayer and benediction.
“That is hardly welcoming of all Australians or reflective of the Defence Force’s workforce and the Australian community,” he said.
“Mr Keogh, what steps will you take to ensure that Christianity does not dominate this year’s public Anzac Day Dawn Service at the Australian War Memorial (AWM) in Canberra, and Anzac and other commemorative days within the Defence Force?”
The RSA told Mr Keogh that other nations in the Commonwealth were reforming the way they commemorate remembrance days, citing as one example Canada’s decision to remove most religious references from such services.
With Australian society — and military personnel – becoming increasingly non-religious, veterans are speaking out about how Christian-dominated remembrance services make them feel excluded.
The RSA’s letter to Mr Keogh included testimony to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide from former Army soldier Sam Proctor, who told the commission the commemorations “only reinforce an impression that service in the ADF is the exclusive preserve of the Christians alone”.
Writing in Rationale magazine in 2022, former Army Colonel Phillip Hoglin said that the religious nature of Anzac Day services and other national remembrance events were turning veterans away.
Last year, the RSA raised concerns with the AWM about the dominance of Christianity in the Dawn Service, but there has been no reply.
The Rationalist Society of Australia is actively lobbying and advocating for secular reform of the Defence Force. See the latest updates here.
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Si Gladman is the Campaigns & Communications Coordinator for the Rationalist Society of Australia. He also hosts ‘The Secular Agenda’ podcast.
Letter to Minister Keogh, 9 April 2024
Dear Mr Keogh,
On behalf of the Rationalist Society of Australia, I’m writing to follow up with you about our concerns about the dominance of Christianity in national military remembrance commemorations.
In a letter to us in late 2022, your office said that such events, including Anzac Day commemorations, remained “welcoming to all” and recognised the diversity of the Defence Force workforce and Australian community.
Yet, Christian rites and traditions again dominated last year’s Anzac Day Dawn Service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. The service included a Christian hymn, a dedication with reference to God, prayers of commemoration, the Lord’s Prayer and benediction – mostly presided over by a Christian Defence chaplain.
That is hardly welcoming of all Australians or reflective of the Defence Force’s workforce and the Australian community.
According to the 2021 national Census, almost 40 per cent of Australians are not religious. On current trends, ‘No religion’ will overtake ‘Christianity’ at the next Census in 2026. In the Defence Force, Christianity is already a minority religious affiliation. According to official Defence figures, 64 per cent of Defence personnel are not religious (as of January 2023).
Important national remembrance commemorations should be secular – welcoming and inclusive of all Australians. They should not resemble church services. Continuing to privilege Christianity in these events risks alienating many Australians, especially veterans and current service personnel.
We note that the dominance by Christianity of commemorative events such as Anzac Day has been raised in testimony to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide. In his submission, former Army soldier Sam Proctor told the royal commission:
The significance of ANZAC Day as the defining focus of who ADF is, was, and has lost is impossible to overstate. The mix of emotions all soldiers feel on that day are palpable, strong and real. This is why it is so vital that it honour all those who served equally, without favour to any group. Ubiquitously framing it as a Christian-only sermon necessarily implies to current-serving non-religious or faith-diverse soldiers that they, their forebears and their fallen mates are only worth honouring to the extent that they were God-fearing. Aside from lacking relevance to most of today’s ADF, these commemorations…only reinforce an impression that service in the ADF is the exclusive preserve of the Christians alone, a fact deeply at odds with my own experience. It risks decline in community engagement with ADF, where Australians are demonstrably becoming far less religious than they once were. What could be an opportunity to bind us all in honouring the enduring ideals of the Australian soldier – mateship, humour, courage and endurance – is instead hijacked as another opportunity for proselytization.
A number of other veterans have spoken out about this issue in recent years. In 2022, for example, former Army Colonel Phillip Hoglin wrote that the religious nature of Anzac Day services and other national remembrance events were turning veterans away.
Other nations in the Commonwealth have moved to make their commemorations secular. Last year, Canada made significant changes to remove religion from its national remembrance services. A new directive there states that, where chaplains are providing a reflection at such events, the reflection shall be “inclusive in nature, and respectful of the religious and spiritual diversity of Canada”. It goes on to say:
The reflection must ensure that attendees are reasonably able to identify with the words being uttered. Chaplains shall endeavour to ensure that all feel included and able to participate in the reflection with a clear conscience, no matter their beliefs (religious, spiritual, agnostic, atheist).
In the United Kingdom, the Royal British Legion – which supports remembrance events across the country – has made changes (in 2023, we believe) to specify that the Act of Remembrance is to be “brief and non-religious”.
Mr Keogh, what steps will you take to ensure that Christianity does not dominate this year’s public Anzac Day Dawn Service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, and Anzac and other commemorative days within the Defence Force?
Sincerely,
Si Gladman
Campaigns & Communications Coordinator,
Rationalist Society of Australia