Tags: Council Prayers
NSS welcomes council in Somerset’s decision to scrap prayers
Posted: Fri, 27 Sep 2019
The NSS has welcomed a decision to scrap official prayers at the start of meetings at a council in Somerset. Read More »
NSS asks council in north Wales to separate prayers from meetings
Posted: Wed, 28 Aug 2019
The NSS has asked councillors in Denbighshire to review their practice of holding prayers before meetings. Read More »
NSS urges councillors in Norfolk to scrap prayers before meetings
Posted: Wed, 17 Jul 2019
The NSS has urged councillors in Norfolk to stop holding prayers before meetings after a councillor tabled a motion to remove them. Read More »
NSS asks equality charity to reconsider support for council prayers
Posted: Thu, 06 Jun 2019
The NSS has asked an equalities charity to reconsider its support for prayers at council meetings after remarks from its chief executive. Read More »
NSS writes to Welsh town council over prayers just before meetings
Posted: Wed, 08 Aug 2018
The NSS has asked the mayor of a Welsh town to ensure prayers are "sufficiently separate" from council meetings and "entirely optional". Read More »
Four NI councils hold prayers before meetings
Posted: Thu, 16 Nov 2017
Four of Northern Ireland's 11 councils hear prayers before their monthly meetings, according to the Belfast Telegraph. Read More »
Councillor proposes silent reflection in place of council prayers
Posted: Mon, 06 Nov 2017
A councillor in Northern Ireland has proposed replacing religious prayers at council meetings with a moment of silent reflection. Read More »
City of London asks for secular message at official dinner
Posted: Thu, 05 Oct 2017
The City of London asked for a religiously-neutral message, rather than a Christian grace, at an official dinner last week. Read More »
Vast majority of Welsh councils no longer hold prayers during meetings
Posted: Sun, 23 Jul 2017
Councils across Wales no longer hold prayers as part of their official business after the National Secular Society won a court battle over the practice. Read More »
It’s blasphemy to oppose having prayers in meetings, blasts councillor
Posted: Fri, 25 Nov 2016
A Cheadle town councillor has rejected objections to the council holding prayers in its meetings, saying it was blasphemous to deny that the UK was a "Christian country". Read More »
Prayers scrapped at Bridgnorth Town Council meetings
Posted: Fri, 20 May 2016
A town council in Shropshire has voted to drop prayers from its meetings over concerns that the imposition of prayer was putting people off from attending. Read More »
Religious ceremonies exclude non-Christians and the non-religious, says councillor
Posted: Wed, 10 Feb 2016
A local councillor has called on Ross-on-Wye town council to move away from religious events and to embrace inclusive, secular ceremonies – warning that current arrangements alienate non-Christians. Read More »
East Herts Councillor resigns following vote to retain prayers at council meetings
Posted: Thu, 29 Oct 2015
A Local councillor has resigned after his motion to remove prayers from East Herts District Council meetings was heavily defeated. Read More »
Council rejects prayers during meetings in “victory for common sense”
Posted: Mon, 07 Sep 2015
A bid to introduce Christian prayers during council meetings in Norfolk has met with a crushing 10-2 defeat, as one resident warned the plan was 'backwards' and "highly divisive". Read More »
Councillor called an “absolute disgrace” for asking that prayers not take place in official meetings
Posted: Tue, 26 May 2015
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. Read More »
Whitchurch scraps prayers in Council meetings
Posted: Mon, 18 May 2015
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. Read More »
Prayers cause conflict on Northern Ireland council
Posted: Wed, 29 Apr 2015
Councillors in Northern Ireland have been left bitterly split after an hour long row over whether to begin council meetings with prayers. Read More »
Canadian Supreme Court rules unanimously against council prayers
Posted: Thu, 16 Apr 2015
The Canadian Supreme Court has ruled that a municipal council in a Quebec town may not hold prayers as part of its official meetings. Read More »
Council prayers bill “no triumph for democracy”
Posted: Sun, 15 Mar 2015
A Bill enabling local authorities in England to hold prayers as part of their official business and to "support or facilitate" religious events has cleared its latest hurdle and is set to become law. Read More »
Council prayers bill branded a "recipe for divisiveness"
Posted: Sat, 28 Feb 2015
A Government backed Bill to give local councils the power to include prayers in their meetings has been branded a 'recipe for divisiveness' during a House of Lords debate. Read More »
