Prayers in Parliament

According to Senate Standing Order 50, the following is read out in federal parliament at the start of each day:

Almighty God, we humbly beseech Thee to vouchsafe Thy special blessing upon this Parliament, and that Thou wouldst be pleased to direct and prosper the work of Thy servants to the advancement of Thy glory, and to the true welfare of the people of Australia.

Our Father, which art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

These prayers should be replaced with a more religiously diverse and non-discriminatory statement, such as (as suggested by a motion put forward by the Greens in 2018):

Senators, let us, in silence, pray or reflect upon our responsibilities to all people of Australia, and to future generations.

This would allow everyone, whether religious or not, to pray or reflect as they wished, and would be in line with the principles of religious freedom.

Prayers are currently recited at all levels of government. We believe this is an important issue for many reasons:

• Sectarian prayers are inconsistent with the religious diversity of the Australian community that MPs are elected to represent.
• Having parliamentary prayers based on one religion only is inappropriate for that religious diversity. The current prayers refer to MPs as servants of a Christian God.
• Federal parliament should not endorse or promote a particular religion. This excludes and devalues those that do not belong to that religion.
• Current prayers may breach the Constitution's requirement of separation of church and state in regards to not "imposing any religious observance".
• The 2016 Census reported that 30% of Australians have no religion, the largest single response group. It is not appropriate for government proceedings to be called to order in the name of a God that a significant proportion of the population do not believe exists.

This is not an "attack on Christianity" (as some have chosen to mischaracterise it) but a change that will ensure fairer representation and greater religious freedom for all Australians.

Read the NSL's submission to the 2018 Parliamentary Prayers enquiry.