There’s a renewed push for Victorian councils to remove the opening prayer at monthly meetings, with one council having removed the prayer after receiving a complaint it breaches human rights. Source: ABC News.
More than a third of Victorian councils start their ordinary monthly meetings the same way — with a prayer.
While some are inclusive of different religions, the majority of those 29 councils acknowledge a Christian god before diving into their agendas of “rates, roads and rubbish”.
The other 50 Victorian councils have already done away with this monotheistic rite, reflecting a broader trend in Australia.
Fifty years ago, Christians made up more than 85 per cent of the population. More recently, according to the 2021 census, just under 44 per cent of Australians identify as Christian, while just under 49 per cent identify with other religions or no faith.
In recent years, some councils have made changes to the traditional Christian prayer to better reflect their communities, with some removing the prayer and others replacing it with a non-denominational prayer, or inviting spiritual leaders from different faiths to open meetings.
Ratepayers’ organisation Council Watch claims the inclusion of the opening prayer in council meetings is in violation of human rights.
The group issued a complaint to all Victorian councils objecting to prayers in official council business, citing rights contained within Victoria’s Human Rights Charter, including: freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief; the right to peaceful assembly; and the right to participate in public affairs.
Pyrenees Shire Council in western Victoria is the latest municipality to remove the opening prayer, and is understood to be the only council so far to react to Council Watch’s complaint with a vote.
Council documents showed legal advice presented to the council at its February meeting recommended scrapping an opening prayer in meeting agendas
FULL STORY
Pressure grows on Victorian councils to ditch opening prayer amid claims of human rights violation (By Olivia Sanders and Matt Neal, ABC News)
