Christian leaders vow to fight council prayer ruling - The Guardian

Christian leaders have vowed to fight a high court ruling that councils have no statutory rights to hold prayers at meetings.

Local authorities across the country will have to review their practice of holding prayers during formal meetings after the National Secular Society argued successfully against it.

Lord Carey, former archbishop of Canterbury, said the judgment could have "incredibly far-reaching consequences". "Will the next step be scrapping the prayers which mark the start of each day in parliament?" he asked.

Mr Justice Ouseley ruled in a landmark judgment that Bideford council in Devon had no statutory powers to hold prayers during council meetings. As many as half of UK local councils are believed to hold prayer sessions as part of their formal proceedings. In Bideford's case, the prayers were minuted.

The complaint against the practice was made by a councillor, Clive Bone, who was supported by the National Secular Society. The Christian Institute gave financial support to Bideford town council.

Carey told the Daily Mail: "These legal rulings may also mean army chaplains could no longer serve, and that the coronation oath, in which the King or Queen pledges to maintain the laws of God and the lessons contained in the gospels, would need to be abolished. This is a truly terrifying prospect.

"It is clear that these sensitive matters can no longer be left in the hands of judges. It is time for the government to act – both to amend local authority legislation, letting local councils themselves decide whether they want to continue the time-honoured custom of saying prayers, and, more broadly, to protect the Christian traditions on which the country is founded."

The bishop of Exeter, the Right Rev Michael Langrish, has said he would encourage councils in his diocese, including Bideford, to continue to say prayers before the statutory business of the meeting began.

Local government leaders have expressed their surprise at the high court decision, and some predicted it would be ignored or overturned.

John Breeds, mayor of Rye in East Sussex, said he expects councillors will now say prayers ahead of their meetings.

"We will try to find a way around it. It doesn't actually have to be part of the meeting. Presumably if we can't say prayers at the beginning of the meeting proper, then we will just have to say them beforehand," he said.

"It's been a tradition for hundreds of years, it's part of the whole sense of ceremony, with the robes and mace and chains, so I think it's a real shame."

The mayor of Folkestone in Kent, Sue Wallace, said she was "astounded" by the decision.

She said: "I think it should be down to the individual to decide. Soon we won't be able to decide anything. I'm sure there are lots of other councils all over the country that will feel the same way as I do."

The communities secretary, Eric Pickles, described the decision as "illiberal and intolerant".

He said the judgment was "surprising and disappointing" and he believed that under the Localism Act councils ought to be allowed to say prayers.

Keith Porteous Wood, executive director of the National Secular Society, said the high court ruling was "an important victory for everyone who wants a secular society that neither advantages nor disadvantages people because of their religion or lack of it".

He added: "There is no longer a respectable argument that Britain is a solely Christian nation, or even a religious one.

"An increasing proportion of people are not practising any religion, and minority faiths are growing in number and influence."