Lord's Prayer to continue in upper house

A Senate inquiry has rejected a Greens proposal to dump the Lord's Prayer from the start of Senate proceedings.

Richard Di Natale

Richard Di Natale says the prayer is inappropriate as half of us no longer identify as Christian. (AAP)

The Lord's Prayer is set to continue in the Senate after an inquiry found there was no reason to adopt a Greens push to change it.

The upper house's procedure committee found not much had changed since 1997 when the proposal was last floated, with the vast majority of more than 800 submissions to the inquiry opposing the move.

Greens leader Richard Di Natale said the prayer was inappropriate because half of Australia no longer identified as Christian.

"We make it very clear that this is a country where there is separation between church and state," Senator Di Natale told parliament on Thursday.

But the inquiry found people in favour of the prayer strongly favour its retention, while those opposed were less concerned to see it changed.

"The committee does not consider, on the evidence before it and after its own deliberations, that there is a momentum for change," Labor senator Sue Lines said in her report.

But the committee did note senators could be invited to pray or reflect in their own way on your responsibilities to the people of Australia and to future generations during the traditional prayer.


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world