The Rationalist Society of Australia has called on the re-elected West Australian government to use the opening of the new term of parliament to remove acts of Christian worship that commit elected representatives to “advancing the glory” of a creationist god.

In a letter to Premier Roger Cook (pictured) and his new attorney-general, Tony Buti, last month, the RSA urged the state government to modernise the Standing Orders of both houses of the West Australian Parliament to address the imposition of Christian prayers. 

RSA Executive Director Si Gladman asked them to remove the daily Christian prayer ritual or replace it with a practice that was secular, more welcoming and inclusive, and better reflective of the West Australian community.

Mr Gladman said the issue was one of fundamental human rights. 

“The practice of reciting prayers at the opening of each day’s proceedings alienates and excludes many people. It makes many elected representatives and staff feel uncomfortable and it sends a message to many West Australians that they are not welcome and are not considered equal participants,” he said.

“Now is the time for the West Australian Parliament to do the right thing by the community and act on this issue.”

While both houses of the parliament begin each day’s proceedings with Christian prayers, the practice of the upper house, the Legislative Council, is particularly egregious in appealing to the “creator of the universe”. 

The first part of the prayer calls on “Almighty God, creator of the universe, giver of life” to bless the Legislative Council’s work. It then commits the elected members of parliament to make decisions “always to the advancement of Thy glory”, before the President of the chamber recites aloud the Lord’s Prayer.

In the letter (see below), Mr Gladman argued that the practice failed to reflect the rich religious and non-religious cultural diversity of Western Australia.

National Census trends show that the proportion of the state’s population identifying as non-religious could reach as high as 50 per cent next year – even with a biased question that assumes all respondents have a religion.

In recent years, upper house member Brian Walker, of the Legalise Cannabis Party, has been pushing for modernisation of the Standing Orders, and he found support from his Labor colleague Alannah MacTiernan.

Mr Gladman told Mr Cook and Mr Buti that the new West Australian Parliament had an opportunity to set a positive example for parliaments elsewhere to follow.

“While momentum for change has been building at the level of local government – with councils across Australia having removed prayers or replaced them with more appropriate practices in recent years – all state parliaments and the federal parliament continue to observe Christian acts of worship at the opening of each day,” he said.

“In the 1990s, the Australian Capital Territory’s Legislative Assembly replaced prayers with a moment of silence for members to pray or reflect according to their own beliefs. That could be a model for the West Australian Parliament to follow.”

The RSA will raise this issue with all members of the new parliament.

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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Image: Roger Cook (Facebook)

RSA letter to Premier Cook and Attorney-General Buti, 21 March 2025

Dear Premier and Attorney-General,

I’m writing on behalf of the Rationalist Society of Australia, which is the nation’s oldest freethought organisation promoting reason, secularism and evidence-based policy.

Firstly, congratulations on your return to government. We wish you well.

The reason I am writing is to urge you to make an important and much-needed change to modernise the Standing Orders of both houses of the West Australian Parliament when the term of the new parliament begins.

Please remove the daily Christian prayer ritual or replace it with a practice that is secular, more welcoming and inclusive, and better reflective of the West Australian community.

The practice of reciting prayers at the opening of each day’s proceedings alienates and excludes many people. It makes many elected representatives and staff feel uncomfortable and it sends a message to many West Australians that they are not welcome and are not considered equal participants.

The practice fails to reflect the rich religious and non-religious cultural diversity of Western Australia. Census figures show declining affiliation with Christianity. Indeed, the 2021 Census figures showed that West Australians identifying as not religious (43 per cent) overtook those identifying as Christian (41 per cent). Based on the current trends, Christianity is set to fall below 40 per cent at next year’s Census, while ‘no religion’ is expected to continue to climb and potentially reach 50 per cent.

The parliament’s procedures should be secular and not favour one particular religious worldview over other worldviews. As the state’s most important institution of democracy, the parliament should be a welcoming place for all citizens – whether they be elected representatives, staff members of the parliament, or members of the public.

We agree with the views of Dr Brian Walker MLC, as expressed in 2021, that the Standing Orders should be modernised with the view to removing prayers. Also, we note that former Labor minister Alannah MacTiernan, in 2022, said it was “time to modernise the formal start of each parliamentary day.”

The wording of the prayer ritual is particularly egregious in the Legislative Council, as it calls on elected representatives to “advance the glory” of a creationist God – referred to as the “creator of the universe” – before ending with the recital of the Lord’s Prayer. Very few elected representatives would believe in the Christian creationist myth. Many, no doubt, would feel deeply uncomfortable with the suggestion that they are there to advance the work and glory of a particular deity.

We view this as a matter of fundamental human rights. It is why we intend to raise the issue of the imposition of Christian prayers in parliaments as an example of unfair and discriminatory treatment against non-religious people – and non-Christians – in a submission to the United Nations’ Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review (Fourth Cycle) into Australia’s human rights.

The new West Australian Parliament has an opportunity to set a positive example for parliaments elsewhere to follow. While momentum for change has been building at the level of local government – with councils across Australia having removed prayers or replaced them with more appropriate practices in recent years – all state parliaments and the federal parliament continue to observe Christian acts of worship at the opening of each day.

In the 1990s, the Australian Capital Territory’s Legislative Assembly replaced prayers with a moment of silence for members to pray or reflect according to their own beliefs. That could be a model for the West Australian Parliament to follow.

Now is the time for the West Australian Parliament to do the right thing by the community and act on this issue. We look forward to hearing from you on this matter.

Regards,

Si Gladman,

Executive Director,

Rationalist Society of Australia