Gav's View

I agree entirely that religion and politics should not inter-mingle – and I find it pretty offensive that a group shoulkd take it upon itself to foist this on everyone. Of course, it has nothing to do with me what your local government council chooses to do.

Interestingly, though, I recently attended a session of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh and before the start of the day’s proceedings there was a 15-minute religious interlude where a minister from a church (in the Scottish Borders) gave a homily; I understand they get some religious bod (different ones) prior to the formal start of every session, but introduced by the Presiding Officer (equivalent of the Speaker).

Do they do the same in the House of Commons? I’ve never been there, so I don’t actually know, but it wouldn’t (unfortunately) surprise me at all.

The House of Commons is, too, guilty of this:

Prayers
Each sitting of the House begins with prayers. Members stand for prayers, facing the wall behind them. This practice has sometimes been attributed to the difficulty Members would once have faced of kneeling to pray whilst wearing a sword. The Speaker’s Chaplain, who is usually the incumbent of St Margaret’s Westminster, the House of Commons church, reads the prayers, though in his or her absence another member of the clergy of the Church of England may deputise. A woman minister has occasionally deputised. On rare occasions, in the absence of clergy, the Speaker has read the prayers. The form of the main prayer is as follows:-

“Lord, the God of righteousness and truth, grant to our Queen and her government, to Members of Parliament and all in positions of responsibility, the guidance of your Spirit. May they never lead the nation wrongly through love of power, desire to please, or unworthy ideals but laying aside all private interests and prejudices keep in mind their responsibility to seek to improve the condition of all mankind; so may your kingdom come and your name be hallowed.
Amen.”

Since 1997, an additional prayer has been used the day after the death of a Member has been reported to the House.

Although information on the origin of daily prayers is sketchy, it is believed that the practice of having such prayers started about 1558, and was a settled practice by 1567. The use of fixed forms of prayer and the appointment of a clergyman to read them appear to have been developments of the 1580’s or later. The present form of prayers probably dates from the Restoration.

From Traditions and Customs of the House

I generally defend attacks on people’s religion (I support state funding of faith schools as long as they teach a general education as defined by the national curriculum) when I believe they stem from intolerance rather than legitimate criticism, but I have to agree prayers should have no place in your council meetings. If people wish to pray they should do it on their own time.