The Lord’s Prayer has a legitimate place in Australia’s Parliament and should continue to be a part of the daily ceremonial opening, according to Lyle Shelton, managing director of the Australian Christian Lobby.
Mr Shelton said that the prayer has been recited at the start of each sitting day in the Senate and House of Representatives since 1901.
“We daily recognise indigenous heritage in Parliament and prayer in parliament recognises western cultural heritage,” he said in a statement this week. “The Lord’s Prayer has a legitimate place in parliament and should continue to be a part of the daily ceremonial opening.”
Mr Shelton’s comments came after Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon said she would move to stop the Lord’s Prayer being recited at Federal Parliament, telling ABC TV it was “insulting” considering many people aren’t religious or have different faiths.
Mr Shelton said it was “regrettable” that the Greens “cannot tolerate the words of Jesus”.
“Jesus is recognised as one of most important – if not the most important – moral and spiritual teachers of all time and his teachings are what Australia and its institutions are based on,” he said.
“It is values based on the teachings of Jesus that have made Australia such an attractive place in which to live…“The ideas emanating from the Christian faith – including those of what it means to promote human flourishing – are an important contribution in debating how best to govern society.”
