We don't think religious worship should play any part in the formal business of the state.
We want to see parliamentary and local government meetings conducted in a manner equally welcoming to all attendees, whatever their personal beliefs.
Parliamentary prayers
Sittings in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords begin with Anglican prayers. MPs and peers stand for prayers facing the wall behind them – a practice thought to have developed due to the difficulty members would historically have faced of kneeling to pray while wearing a sword.
When the chamber is at its busiest, parliamentary prayers act as a bizarre and antiquated seat reservation system. Even MPs and peers who are slated to speak have no option but to attend prayers in order to reserve a seat.
Whilst they may be viewed by some as an important tradition, parliamentary prayers serve to assert the superiority of Christianity (and the Church of England in particular) at Westminster. This 'tradition' is inimical to a modern, pluralistic, secular democracy.
In the Scottish Parliament, Tuesday afternoon sessions begin with 'Time for Reflection', with faith and belief representatives invited to addresses members for up to four minutes. The Northern Ireland Assembly begins formal business with a period of two minutes of silent prayer or contemplation. The Welsh Assembly has adopted no such rituals.
Parliamentarians who wish to pray are free to do so. But prayers should not form part of the official business of Parliament.
Council prayers
Many local authorities in Britain also begin their meetings with prayer.
Local democracy should be equally welcoming to all sections of society, regardless of their religion or belief. Council meetings should be conducted without anyone feeling excluded, or compelled to either participate in prayers or absent themselves from part of the meeting.
Council prayers open the door to wholly unnecessary conflict and sectarian squabbles within local authorities. There is a history of local councillors being bullied and marginalised for challenging council prayers.
The absence of prayers from the formal business of meetings in no way impedes religious freedoms or denies anybody the right to pray. Conversely, organised worship in secular settings imposes worship on those who do not share the faith. A genuine commitment to freedom of religion or belief is incompatible with including acts of worship in the formal business of council meetings.
If local authorities wish to hold a moment of silent reflection at the beginning of a meeting, or if councillors wish to meet for prayers prior to the meeting, they are at liberty to do so.
Take action!
1. Write to your MP
Please enter your postcode and urge your MP to support an alternative to parliamentary prayers, to make parliament more welcoming to people of all faiths and none.
2. Share your story
Tell us why you support this campaign, and how you are personally affected by the issue. You can also let us know if you would like assistance with a particular issue - for example, if you would like to challenge prayers at your own council.
3. Join the National Secular Society
Become a member of the National Secular Society today! Together, we can separate religion and state for greater freedom and fairness.
Latest updates
Councillor called an “absolute disgrace” for asking that prayers not take place in official meetings
Posted: Tue, 26 May 2015 16:02
A local councillor has been called an "absolute disgrace" by a Conservative councillor for suggesting that it was "inappropriate" to hold prayers in council meetings.
David Boothroyd, a Labour councillor and a non-believer, objected after the new Lord Mayor of Westminster asked a chaplain to lead the council in prayers.
After the prayers had taken place, Mr Boothroyd raised a point of order and said, "It is entirely inappropriate to insert into a council meeting about the governance of the city a religious ceremony which may not have meaning for everyone here."
"It is as wrong to have a religious observance that everyone has to participate in, regardless of faith, as it is to stop people with religious faith from praying if they want to. It is an imposition on us."
In response to the imposition of prayers on the meeting, he went on, "In my case I want to make a solemn affirmation that I do solely, sincerely and solemnly declare that there is no rational basis for belief in gods."
In response to councillor Boothroyd's point of order, the head of democratic services at the council cited the power of the Local Government (Religious etc Observances) Act. "In recent legislation it is expressly allowed to have religious ceremony in council meetings," the official responded.
Conservative councillor Lindsey Hall said, "I thought Councillor Boothroyd's outburst tonight was an absolute disgrace. The Lord Mayor has always had a chaplain."
National Secular Society spokesperson, Stephen Evans, commented on the case saying: "This just goes to show the unnecessary division and resentment that can be caused by imposing prayer in secular settings. The supporters of the Local Government (Religious etc Observances) Act called it a 'modest measure' to restore power to local authorities, in fact it essentially allows councils to publicly identify with a particular religious belief and impose its rituals on councillors whilst they carry out their civic duties for wish they were elected."
The National Secular Society campaigned against the Act earlier this year, warning when the then-bill passed through the Commons that it would effectively impose "acts of religious worship on public servants", or else cause them to excuse themselves from meetings while prayers were said.
In the past month Whitchurch Town Council decided to abolish their practice of holding prayers at the start of meetings, while a council in Northern Ireland suffered a bitter split over whether to hold religious observances or not. In April 2015, the Canadian Supreme Court ruled unanimously against a town in Quebec which held prayers during council meetings.
Whitchurch scraps prayers in Council meetings
Posted: Mon, 18 May 2015 12:32
Whitchurch Town Council has voted to abolish the practice of saying prayers at its meetings, just weeks after the previous Government passed legislation enabling councils to include religious observances as part of their official meetings.
A proposal to replace prayers with a 'period of reflection' was rejected by a majority of councillors, meaning no religious observances whatsoever will now take place at council meetings.
Councillor Steven Neilson, who said he felt "intimidated" by prayers, paid tribute to his "Christian friends and colleagues" for their positive reaction to his proposal that prayers be excluded from town hall meetings.
Cllr Neilson said: "Council meetings should be conducted in a manner equally welcoming to all councillors, regardless of their individual religious beliefs or lack of belief. A common theme from our discussions on council is that we must avoid imposing our personal religious beliefs on others".
Stephen Evans, National Secular Society campaigns manager, commended the Council for recognising that prayers in secular settings can create an "unwelcoming environment".
The decision is another blow for Eric Pickles who last week lost his job as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. One of his final acts as Communities Secretary was to issue a statement declaring the Local Government (Religious Observances) Act as a victory for "freedom to worship over intolerant and aggressive secularism" and for "long-standing British liberties over modern-day political correctness".
Mr Evans commented: "Although we were disappointed to see legislation to re-establish council prayers pass into law with so little scrutiny, we fully expect other councils to realise that local authority meetings are not an appropriate setting for religious worship. Religious freedom is important, but a secular approach to these matters is necessary to ensure that an individuals' right to worship is always balanced by others' rights to worship in other ways, or live their lives free from religion if they so choose".
Last week the NSS welcomes Mr Pickles' departure from Cabinet, and criticised his legacy of using his ministerial office to promote a religious agenda.
Meanwhile, a Council in Northern Ireland was recently left bitterly split after an hour-long debate about having prayers at the start of meetings. Sinn Féin Councillor Cara McShane said she believed that politics and religion were 'separate' and told council colleagues "I don't come here to pray."
*Update* an earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Sinn Féin Councillor Cara McShane was an SDLP councillor.
