Eliminating Parliament Prayers in Australia

Should legislative sessions open with prayers to God? That's a debate which has occupied many people in the United States, but other nations have also been faced with this issue. In Australia, for example, the Green Party in New South Wales is arguing that the NSW Parliament should drop the tradition of prayers before sessions.

According to The Australian:

"The Parliament of NSW is supposed to represent everybody who calls this state home, yet there are an increasing number of NSW residents who don't belong to the Christian faith," Greens MP Lee Rhiannon said. She said the Greens' proposal was modelled on what was already in place in the ACT Parliament, the only state parliament in Australia which had taken this step.

Of course, many people wish to retain the prayers - after all, it is a symbol of Christian hegemony in society, so eliminating them might remind Christians that they perhaps they should no longer be able to dominate to the exclusion of other religious groups.

Read More:

• Separation of Church and State 101
• Government Chaplains