A number of councils have decided not to resume their longstanding practice of opening meetings with prayer after secular campaigners attacked the historic tradition, arguing that prayers had “no place” in a secular environment.
The Sunday Telegraph has found that at least 40 councils have decided to either stop or "water down" prayer sessions held at the start of business after the High Court controversially backed the complaints of secularists that the ancient custom was “illegal”.
Councillors in Harrow, as well as some others, have decided to abandon prayers completely, whilst Gloucestershire council has removed all references to "God" and "Jesus Christ" from a prayer read in formal meetings since 1974.
The council's original prayer which read;“Let us pray for God's blessing...may He give us wisdom. Through Jesus our Lord” has now been shockingly replaced by a revised version that states;
“May we find the wisdom to carry out our duties, the humanity to listen to all, the courage to do what is right and the generosity to treat each other with respect. Amen.”
Other councillors have decided to substitute prayers with "moments of reflection", a silence of two minutes or the saying of "informal" prayers immediately before meetings are due to begin.
Comment
Rev Ross Moughtin, a former chaplain to West Lancashire council where prayers will no longer be included in the minutes of meetings, stated:
“The church is very much part of community life here and council prayers are part of that.
“The national picture is sad. I would support prayers in council meetings. It helps people to recognise that council meetings are more than simply business meetings – that they have a spiritual dimension.”
With regards to Gloucestershire council altering their prayers, he said: "If you are praying, you have to be clear who you are praying to. That doesn't sound like the case here."
Bideford Town Council
The changes were made after Bideford Town Council was forced to stop its long standing tradition of opening meetings with prayer after a High Court ruled that there was “no statutory power” to allow them to continue.
The case was originally brought against Bideford Council by the National Secular Society, after councillor and atheist Clive Bone raised complaints about the practice.
The High Court ruling caused a huge outcry and led to Eric Pickles, the Communities Secretary, intervening to try to secure the right of Council members to start their meetings with prayer.
Mr Pickles quickened the introduction of a “general power of competence” under the Localism Act, giving Councils the authority to engage in any act which is lawful for an individual, including the holding of public prayers.
He subsequently claimed that: “Bideford Town Council will be able to hold prayers once more at the start of Council business”.
Yet, the Mayor of Bideford, Trevor Johns, recently announced that Bideford Council will not be resuming the prayers.
He claims that the Government’s intervention does not go far enough and leaves the legality of Council prayers in a grey area.
“It’s ambiguous at the moment”, said Mr Johns. “It worries me. The judiciary are supposed to be the highest law in the land, above Government. How Eric Pickles, out of the goodness of his heart, can overturn the judiciary, I have my doubts.”
Experts appear divided over the legal situation.
The National Association of Local Councils is arguing that authorities have little choice but to obey the High Court ruling. Other legal experts also fear that Mr Pickles’s actions will make no difference.
Yet the Local Government Association is confident that the court ruling has been overturned. A spokeswoman told the Guardian:
"In line with the Government, we believe the ruling is overturned by the general power of competence. It is still the decision of local authorities if they wish to hold prayers as part of full meetings."
Andrea Minichiello Williams, CEO of Christian Concern, commented:
“These changes highlight the rise of a totalitarian and bitter kind of secularism that seeks to remove all traces of Christianity from public discourse.
“The claim that secularism is the more neutral option is a myth.
“Secularists are determined to uproot our Christian foundations whilst simultaneously advocating the false notion that atheism provides the correct principles upon which society - and its values - should be based.
"Atheism however is by no means neutral. It is deeply rooted in the rejection of God and the objective standards of morality that He lays for the benefit of all mankind.
“As a nation we need to be determined not to forego the values based on the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, which have shaped our country for centuries and made it the thriving and flourishing nation that it is today.
“I urge all councils not to give in to the pressure to conform, but to be vocal and visible for the Lord Jesus by continuing to keep prayers on their agenda.”
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