The Noosa Temple of Satan has launched a petition on the Parliament House website calling for the removal of Christian prayer from official proceedings.
Brother Samael Demo-Gorgon said with the government set to introduce a Religious Discrimination Bill to Parliament, “we reckon the Parliament should firstly show its commitment to freedom of religion for all and to freedom from religion by removing Christian prayer from official proceedings“.
“Every day in the two houses of our Nation’s Parliament, politicians, staff and members of the public gallery are asked to stand to recite the Lord’s Prayer at the opening of the day’s business,“ he said.
“Our petition calls for the prayer to be replaced with a moment of silence for reflection or silent private prayer.
“This House will soon consider a Religious Discrimination Bill. It would be hypocritical to consider that legislation while subjecting non-Christians to such a discriminatory practice,” the petition says.
“Large numbers of Australians are not Christian. Indeed, a growing section of society identifies as non-religious. For many of these people, having to stand for the recital of religious prayers is humiliating.
“By continuing with this practice, our nation’s Parliament says to them that they are not welcome and they are second-class citizens. This is not good enough. Our parliament should be secular, welcoming and inclusive.”
The petition can be found at bit.ly/3wHdUKI
