A Manawatū District councillor is not backing down from his opinion about the use of non-Christian prayers at council meetings. Steve Bielski says he would not accept Muslims or any non-Christians praying at the council because they believed in different gods. Councillors were discussing a proposal to invite members of different faiths to open meetings Read more
The United States Supreme Court has ruled that legislative bodies like city councils can begin their meetings with prayer, even if it favours a given religion. On May 5, the court ruled 5-4 that Christian prayers before town council meetings in Greece, New York, did not violate the US constitution. The constitution prohibits the government Read more
Kelston Intermediate principal Phil Gordon says the prayers (karakia) said at his school are “not a religious thing but a cultural thing.” Prime Minister, John Key says teachers in schools should be able to opt-out of delivering a karakia in schools if they wanted to. Maori Affairs Minster, Pita Sharples. says because there are a lot of Read more
A Gloucestershire council has dropped references to God from the prayer with which it opens meetings, under pressure from secularist campaigners.For as long as anyone can remember, councillors in Gloucestershire have stood up for a brief prayer before their meetings get under way. But when three agnostic and atheist members staged a protest against the Read more
I’ve been thinking about the most wonderful keyhole in the world as debates about public prayer have been on the agenda of city council meetings in Bideford, England and Whanganui, New Zealand. To look through this keyhole you have to go to Rome and walk up the Aventine Hill until you get to the front door of Read more
The New Zealand Christian Network says the Wanganui District Council is wrong to overturn an important tradition and stop opening meetings with a Christian prayer. “Some people seem to have a view that prayer and other aspects of religion need to be excluded from councils and other public forums for them to be truly public. Read more
Controversy over Wanganui District council’s prayer has flared again, with one councillor facing possible suspension after a complaint was laid against him by a colleague.
Councillor Clive Solomon has laid a Code of Conduct complaint against Councillor Rob Vinsen, alleging a number of breaches of the “understanding and expectations” requirements of the code.
The complaint relates to comments made by Mr Vinsen in emails regarding the council’s prayer.
Read the article...
Minsters of religion may not figure so prominently in civil ceremonies as they once did, but God, seems to be irrepressible. Public blessings and prayers are bursting out all over. In the USA, and worldwide there has been an extraordinary outpouring of prayer In his column Brian Rudman points out that God is getting in again via the Read more