The Rationalist Society of Australia has expressed its disappointment to Victorian Labor MPs for their government’s apparent capitulation to the demands of religious lobbyists in continuing to impose daily acts of Christian worship in parliament.
In a letter to every Labor MP in the state’s parliament, sent early this month, the RSA said it was “deeply disappointed” the Allan government had failed to deliver on its promise to replace prayers with something more inclusive, welcoming of all people, and reflective of Victoria’s diverse population.
RSA Executive Director Si Gladman urged Labor MPs, in the final months of the parliamentary term, to deliver on the government’s promise, made more than 1700 days ago.
“It appears the government has capitulated to the demands of religious leaders, religious lobbyists such as the Australian Christian Lobby, and conservative religious MPs in the Liberal Opposition,” wrote Mr Gladman.
“Instead of pursuing this progressive reform, the Labor government appears to have opted to uphold Christian privilege.”
Each day when the parliament is in session the Victorian Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council begin their work by observing exclusively Christian prayers, including the Lord’s Prayer.
In recent weeks, the Allan government finally responded to a question in parliament from Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell, who sought an update on the progress being made in developing a replacement practice to the daily prayers.
The Allan government’s response – coming nine months overdue – said that the government remained “committed to focussing on the priorities of Victorians”, such as cost of living relief and delivering infrastructure projects.
In the response, Treasurer Jaclyn Symes also claimed that the government was “committed to our diverse multicultural and multifaith communities”.
“We continually reaffirm our commitment to ensuring every individual – regardless of their background, faith, or identity – can live and participate in freely in society,” she said.
In his letter to Labor MPs, RSA Executive Director Si Gladman said the practice of imposing acts of Christian religious worship in parliament was divisive, discriminatory and alienating to many Victorians.
He also noted that many members of the parliament, including Labor MPs, boycott that part of the day’s proceedings.
As the RSA reported in 2024, one-third of the total number of lawmakers in the Legislative Council were refusing to enter the chamber for the prayers.
“(The practice of observing prayers) fails to reflect the reality that Victorians come from various religious backgrounds and are, increasingly, identifying as not religious. At this year’s Census, being held in August, ‘No religion’ will, based on trends, overtake Christianity in Victoria – and this will be with a biased Census question that inflates the religion result,” wrote Mr Gladman.
In early 2024, Premier Jacinta Allan (pictured) revealed that she wanted to see parliament’s practices reflect the state’s cultural diversity.
However, her government has not responded to several letters from the RSA seeking an explanation for the government’s inaction on the issue.
In August 2024, the RSA reported that the Allan government appeared to have backed down from its commitment following a public campaign spearheaded by conservative members of the Liberal opposition and religious lobbyists such as the Australian Christian Lobby.
Earlier this year, the RSA reported that Liberal upper house member Evan Mulholland had boasted of the Liberal Party having “saved the Lord’s Prayer”.
Mr Gladman told Labor MPs the failure to act on its promise put the Victorian government out of step with best practice.
“Thankfully, local government councils across Victoria are leading the way, with many having removed acts of religious worship from their meetings in recent years. Also, the Tasmanian Parliament’s Legislative Council last year removed the Lord’s Prayer,” he 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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