The parliamentary prayer
Wanganui District Council is locked in a dispute over whether they should open proceedings with a prayer. For some reason, the Human Rights Tribunal has been called in - mainly, it seems, because the mayor and the majority of the council don't want the prayer, while the former mayor and one other councilor appear to want the prayer to stay. An attempted compromise - having the prayer before the official meeting started - hasn't acceptable. As The Dominion Post notes, this has potential implications for New Zealand's parliamentary prayer. Back in 2007, of parliamentarians voted to keep the prayer, which goes:
Almighty God, humbly acknowledging our need for Thy guidance in all things, and laying aside all private and personal interests, we beseech Thee to grant that we may conduct the affairs of this House and of our country to the glory of Thy holy name, the maintenance of true religion and justice, the honour of the Queen, and the public welfare, peace, and tranquillity of New Zealand, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
...by "true religion" the prayer is referring to the Church of England (as does the Queen of New Zealand's title) - the religion of just 14.7% of New Zealanders. New Zealand's prayer is basically the same as one of the House of Lords prayers, from the time of Henry VIII (who split the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church):
Almighty God, by whom alone Kings reign, and Princes decree justice; and from whom alone cometh all counsel, wisdom, and understanding; we thine unworthy servants, here gathered together in thy Name, do most humbly beseech thee to send down thy Heavenly Wisdom from above, to direct and guide us in all our consultations; and grant that, we having thy fear always before our eyes, and laying aside all private interests, prejudices, and partial affections, the result of all our counsels may be to the glory of thy blessed Name, the maintenance of true Religion and Justice, the safety, honour, and happiness of the Queen, the publick wealth, peace and tranquillity of the Realm, and the uniting and knitting together of the hearts of all persons and estates within the same, in true Christian Love and Charity one towards another, through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. Amen.
Is it time for Parliament to look at the prayer once again?
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It is instructive to look at the ways in which the New Zealand parliamentary prayer differs from the original model. Unlike the original, the New Zealand prayer
- Does not proscribe "partial affections" and does not call for "the uniting and knitting together of the hearts of all persons and estates within the same". In other words, among New Zealand politicians there is no intent, or pretension, to rise above the interests of party and class.
- Does not describe politicians as "thine unworthy servants". In other words there is no profession of humility - whether true or false.
- Does not acknowledge God as the source of "all counsel, wisdom, and understanding" - thereby leaving that awesome responsibility in the hands of political strategists, public relations firms, economists and Treasury officials.
One has to wonder whether New Zealand parliamentarians can in good conscience subscribe to the prayer even in its present highly truncated form ("laying aside all private and personal interests...the maintenance of true religion and justice") and perhaps, in the interests of avoiding the appearance of hypocrisy, it might be better for Parliament to abandon the prayer altogether.
Having a Christian prayer in paliament is unacceptable. We as a nation do not need this. This divides people. Keep the church out of government. We will all be better off.
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