TWO new mayors in the UK have sparked anger among Christians by kicking council prayers to the kerb.
Less than a month after he took up the chains of office, Labour councillor Colin Hall this week found himself in the firing line after expressing his “delight” at being able to end the tradition council prayers as mayor of his home city of Leicester.
Lord Mayor Hall
Earlier, a row broke out at Enfield Council in Middlesex after the new mayor, Jayne Buckland, dropped prayer from a council meeting and replaced it with the recitation of poems. She said that those who wish to pray could still do so in the mayor’s parlour before the meeting begins
Announcing his decision in the Leicester Secular Society‘s monthly newsletter, Cllr Hall said prayers were “outdated, unnecessary and intrusive” and added they would no longer be said before meetings at Leicester Town Hall.
The ban came days after he refused to attend a service at Leicester Cathedral welcoming him to his role as the city’s new Lord Mayor.
He later told his followers on the Twitter networking site that he was mayor for:
All the people of Leicester and not just those from the Church of England.
The East Midlands city is regarded as the most multi-faith and multi-ethnic outside London, with 36 per cent of residents from ethnic minorities, according to the 2001 census.
Writing in the Leicester Secular Society’s publication, the mayor said:
I am delighted to confirm that I will be exercising my discretion as lord mayor to abolish this outdated, unnecessary and intrusive practice. I consider that religion, in whatever shape or form, has no role to play at all in the conduct of council business. This particularly applies in Leicester, where the majority of council members, myself included, do not regularly attend any particular faith service.
This was all to much for the clown prince of British evangelism, Christian Voice director Stephen “Birdshit” Green, who said he was “appalled” to hear of the ban. The demented homophobe, who has been rather quiet of late, whined:
This is just another example of Christian traditions and values being eroded.
Another mouthy religiot, Mike Judge, spokesman for the Christian Institute, said the mayor was:
Imposing his own views on the rest of the council. The reading of Christian prayers before meetings symbolises our Christian heritage and offends nobody.
And Liz Hudson-Oliff, spokesman for the Diocese of Leicester, said:
It is up to the mayor to decide what he does and this is his right. But I think Councillor Hall has particular issues with religion and religious practices that have become more important than other things he is involved with.
However, Allan Hayes, the mayor’s humanist chaplain and President of the Leicester Secularist Society, said:
I think it’s a good move because saying Christian prayers picks out one particular stance of people in the city. It’s rather divisive, in my view.
When Enfield’s Mayor Buckland substituted prayer with poetry, Conservative councillor Jon Kaye, a member of the local SACRE, expressed outrage.
The decision to abolish the prayer before a council meeting is ill-judged. This anti-religious move, at a time when we have an increasingly diverse borough with a variety of religious minorities, sends out the wrong signal. The prayer enables councillors to not only reflect on what is said, but to think about how we conduct ourselves during the subsequent three-hour meetings. This is a retrograde step.
But Council leader Doug Taylor defended the mayor’s decision, stating the poems would “support and encourage the arts”. He said:
Prior to the formal business of the council meeting, the Mayor has sole discretion to decide how best to reflect upon matters spiritual and temporal. Prayers for those who wish to have a few moments of quiet reflection will be held in the Mayor’s parlour before Council meetings. The mayor has invited poets to read out a short poetry item in the Council chamber before full council meetings – something that celebrates our borough and supports and encourages the arts. I am surprised that Cllr Kaye is unable to appreciate this.
London Mayor Boris Johnson
The National Secular Society is currently running a campaign to abolish ALL prayer at council meetings – something which doesn’t please the prattish Mayor of London, Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson. Speaking on Premier Christian Radio, Johnson spewed up with this ridiculous guff:
What a load of cobblers. Let me tell the National Secular Society, irrespective of your religious views, the fact is that parliament begins every day with prayers for Her Majesty and, indeed, for all politicians that they shall govern justly and all the rest of it. And it’s very interesting because politicians — everybody — whatever their beliefs, they all pray and they think about the sacred trust they’ve been given by the people.
And I think it’s quite a good thing whatever they may think about the existence or non-existence of God or whatever. It’s quite a good thing to focus briefly on a moment of prayer which is the unique period of reflection, personal reflection, they should focus on what they’re doing and the importance of what they are doing and so that’s why I think it works and any attempt to ban it would be misguided. [This is a verbatim transcript of Mr Johnson's comment, with punctuation guessed at.]
Keith Porteous Wood, Executive Director of the NSS, who was interviewed by the station shortly afterwards said:
For a former member of the Commons to claim that all MPs pray, shows either that his powers of observation are so compromised it throws doubt on his abilities, or — more likely — that he will say anything to please his hosts in the hope of garnering a few more votes.
You can contribute to the NSS’s fighting fund by making a donation securely online at www.secularism.org.uk or by sending a cheque to NSS Fighting Fund, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL.
Hat tip: Stuart W
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
June 24th, 2010 at 10:50 am
My god, I never thought I would be saying this, but Boris Johnson sounds just as eloquent and intelligent as G W Bush. And there I was thinking that Bush was unique. Silly me…
June 24th, 2010 at 11:09 am
It is worrying how these twats manage to get elected.
June 24th, 2010 at 11:10 am
If the Commons all pray then there must be video footage of these prayer sessions surely?
June 24th, 2010 at 11:15 am
He later told his followers on the Twitter networking site that he was mayor for:
“All the people of Leicester and not just those from the Church of England.”
Good man!
Another mouthy religiot, Mike Judge, spokesman for the Christian Institute, said the mayor was:
“Imposing his own views on the rest of the council. The reading of Christian prayers before meetings symbolises our Christian heritage and offends nobody.”
And having mandatory prayers isn’t imposing your own views on the rest of the council? Fuck off. You’re too stupid to even realise what a hypocrite you are!
And who are you to say that it offends nobody? I’d be offended if I was a council member forced to take part in a prayer.
“The decision to abolish the prayer before a council meeting is ill-judged. This anti-religious move, at a time when we have an increasingly diverse borough with a variety of religious minorities, sends out the wrong signal.”
Seriously, are you THAT stupid? Talking about how diverse your borough is and still wanting christian prayers before meetings? What about the diversity of your council members? I’d be willing to bet at least one or two are muslim, hindu, jewish or atheist. What does enforced christian prayer do for them?
MORONS ALL!
June 24th, 2010 at 11:31 am
Damn, Pete H beat me to it!
Seriously, the irony of someone pointing out their district’s multi-ethnic make-up and then demanding that prayers from only one religion be said is just too delicious…
Kudos to councillors Hall and Buckland!
June 24th, 2010 at 11:57 am
I bet they’d be just as annoyed about a roster of prayers- Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, (anything else I can’t think of that would need to be represented), and none. If not observing religion is to be viewed as a religious observation (incorrectly IMO), then that would be the fair way to do it and they couldn’t reasonably have any complaint. But then I don’t think reason comes into it.
June 24th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
And so it begins …or at least we hope so….now this is getting somewhere with traction.
Still along way to go though in getting religion out of the front parlour of the house and moving it back to the basement from whence it came….if you wish to pray do it in your basement or in your holy buildings and leave the public buildings as secular.
We need more “normal” people like Hall…and less of Johnson.
PS
If the parliamentarians pray prior to the commencement of a session in the house which side will god take in any given debate….does god run the house of commons ? ….silly beggars all….
June 24th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
As for all the crap about Christian traditions, even the atheistophobic Daily Mail admits
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....z0rlmO4oJN
June 24th, 2010 at 1:36 pm
Mired in lies, endlessly reinventing themselves, turning away from life and encouraging celibacy as an ideal and ending up with regiments of perverted priests and nuns and generally anti social, interfering dumbfucks. Boris Johnson – what a berk.
June 24th, 2010 at 2:27 pm
On a complexly different but related subject the cult of scientology (which has no charitable status in the UK) are using a scam to pay no tax in this country. Please see link. I would urge everyone to write to their MP and find out what the Inland Revenue is doing to close this scam down
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....ded&#
June 24th, 2010 at 3:30 pm
Barry, throughout this piece you have referred to the Leicester Secularist Society; though descriptively correct, like the misnamed NSS it should be ‘Secular’.
_____
June 24th, 2010 at 5:29 pm
You are right, of course, Adam. I unwittingly copied the Mail’s error. Corrected now.
June 24th, 2010 at 7:57 pm
I have to say that I am slightly fascinated by the wooly minded arguments that are being used in support of retaining these prayers, they seem to provide something of an insight into the workings of the religious mind. Jon Kaye comes up with, not a non-sequiteur, but a reverse-sequiteur. Christian only prayers worked well when just about everyone involved was a Christian. Now that society is much more diverse he uses this as an argument for the retention of Christian only prayers when it is clearly an argument for the exact opposite.
Of course it must be difficult to formulate an argument when you have no case, this has been something of a problem for those who are opposed to gay civil partnerships. The best that they can come up with is to suggest that these are a threat to traditional marriage. How and in what way they never seem to say.
June 24th, 2010 at 9:56 pm
The debate about Prayers is happening across the country. Here’s a very rational and constructive response from a Torbay VIP:
http://www.peoplesrepublicofso.....here-else/
June 24th, 2010 at 10:18 pm
I think what he might’ve been trying to say was that as xianity was the religious foundation of Britain, it would behoove government to keep that in mind when dealing with the multi-ethnic background of today’s society, to better preserve British tradition and way of life.
Of course, this is the same cherry-picking bullshit we see here in the States: everything that’s good came from xians and therefore xianity is an integral part of our culture that should be preserved. Nevermind that it was science and secularism that allowed us to flourish, let’s give credit where credit most definitely is not due. That’s the attitude I see here, anyway.
June 25th, 2010 at 1:34 am
Damn!! You guys are on the ball. I guess, perhaps, that’s why I’m drawn here. So, I’d shut my lips, if there wasn’t a dash more irony to dump in the stew.
Alexander Johnson is quoted:
“irrespective of your religious views, the fact is that parliament begins every day with prayers for Her Majesty and, indeed, for all politicians that they shall govern justly and all the rest of it.”
I found that humorous. When was the last time you heard of any politician that cared about anything except getting re-elected and pandering to his contributers and benefactors?
But, that’s the downside to noisy ass democracy. The nematodes and amoebas not only have a voice, they have a vote. Built in obsolescence, since it is known before hand that some simply will not have their eyes opened to reality.
NeoWolfe
June 25th, 2010 at 1:40 am
I live in Leicester and have to own up to trolling the local papers website. I don’t know too much about Mr Hall but I do know he is right to not have prayers at public meetings. So i put the cat among the pigeons.
It was too tempting. You see, I do this once in a while but it’s like taking candy from a baby. Too easy. I said what I thought but made sure it would wind the fuck out of the jesus junkies.
Leicester is a great place to live and the home of the oldest secular society on the planet! It’s also bursting with religious nutjobs and I get the Mormons and Jehovahs Fruitcakes round a couple of times a week. Round the corner from me is some guy who owns an island in the hebrides or shetlands where his cult have happy clappy sessions and I live within walking distance of 20 astrologers who promise to use the ‘power of scientific to get rid of curse’. We have two universities. We also have more islamic schools in a few square miles than I would believe existed in all of Europe.
Do me a favour and mosey over to the Leicetster Mercury’s website and support this guy. Only takes a second and it’s the most commented story already. If it helps, the Mercury is owned by the Daily Mail group of fuckers.
June 30th, 2010 at 6:49 pm
Oh dear – he’s not an atheist messiah – he’s a very naughty boy!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/eng.....465457.stm
And he’s the spit of the lord mayor from Royston Vasey
http://www.lunacynet.com/leagu....._mayor.jpg