Worthy Christian News > World News > Secular Groups Petition to Cease Christian Prayers in Australian Parliament

Secular Groups Petition to Cease Christian Prayers in Australian Parliament

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – As the parliament resumed this week in Australia, a coalition of pro-secular Australian organizations initiated a petition on the Australian Parliament House website calling for the removal of Christian prayer from its longstanding tradition.

Since 1901, two Christian prayers have been recited at the commencement of each sitting day in Australia’s Federal Government House of Representatives, one of which is the Lord’s Prayer. Atheist groups contend that the use of Christian prayers in Parliament favors one religious worldview over another.

The petition urges the House of Representatives to update its standing orders, advocating for substituting daily Christian prayers with a more inclusive practice that does not favor one religious worldview over others.

“Australia’s multicultural society is becoming increasingly non-religious and more religiously diverse,” Michael Dove, the principal petitioner and chair of Secularism Australia Conference’s organizing committee, told Yahoo News Australia.

The 2021 Census revealed a decline in Christianity by over 1 million people in Australia, constituting less than half of the population. Despite this decrease, 43.9% of Australians view themselves as Christians. The second-largest group comprised individuals with no religious affiliation, representing 38.9%. Other notable religions included Islam at 3.2%, Hinduism at 2.7%, and Buddhism at 2.4%.