A neighborhood Christian leader in town of St Albans has criticized a vote by the council to scrap prayers before official meetings.
Sinead Howland, a Liberal Democrat who sits on St Albans City and District Council, proposed an end to the practice of claiming prayers before meetings on the grounds that councillors mustn’t “feel like an outsider in their very own chamber”.
The controversial proposal was approved with 25 votes in favour, to twenty against.
Rev Peter Crumpler, who serves at St Paul’s Church in town, told the BBC that the choice was an awesome disappointment and a shame.
Crumpler also noted that, removed from being an inclusive measure, the choice actually serves to exclude people of any faith in any respect.
“This is not a call taken against the Christian community, it’s a call to make the council meetings no-go areas for religion,” he said.
“Although many individuals in St Albans would have a faith, and lots of people in St Albans can be sympathetic to faith, the council is saying ‘No, we would like no overt space for this in our council meetings’, and I feel that is a shame.”
Many English councils begin their meetings with prayers by a neighborhood religious leader. They usually are not at all times Christian in character.
Howland defended the move, not only on grounds of inclusivity, but additionally on the premise that removing the prayers would supposedly create a “neutral and skilled environment where all members can begin their work on equal footing.”
Instead of prayers led by a spiritual leader, council members may observe a minute’s silence to wish and reflect privately in the event that they wish.
Last week, members of Howland’s Liberal Democrat party were reminded to “be liberal” after plenty of cases during which it was accused of breaking equality laws against Christians and people with “gender critical” beliefs.
