Government officials have praised the concept of prayer at local governmental meetings, saying there's much to be gained from it.
"All elected officials might like to reflect that there may be more power in prayer than in any stroke of a minister's pen or ruling from the chair, and that this bill, which seeks to protect people's freedom to pray, will enable people of all religious beliefs to seek guidance in their deliberations in elected office."
The comment comes from Member of Parliament Jake Berry, who proposed a bill that corrects a court ruling disallowing prayer at governmental council meetings and the like.
Lyn Brown, a Labour Party MP, said the legislation does "not seem to conflict with the most liberal of expectations."
She said local authorities should have the right "to include prayers if they wish to. It is not prescriptive, but enabling. I am content, on behalf of the opposition, to wish the bill and its purposes well."
During debate on the plan, Brown explained that the court ruling came is a fight over whether the Bideford town council could have prayers on its meeting agendas.
"The decision of the High Court in 2012 was that a local authority had no power to hold prayers as part of its formal business. The bill will confirm unequivocally that prayers, religious observances or even philosophical observations may take place as part of the business of local authorities in England and Wales," Brown said.
"We must see this as a matter of local choice. Religious observance is a matter where local choice should prevail and in respect of which the virtues of tolerance, sensitivity and community well-being should shine through."
Berry, a Conservative MP, said, "I believe that putting the freedom to pray on a statutory footing for all local authorities is an important issue for elected representatives who serve communities across the UK. I want to put on record my thanks to all councilors – from county councilors to parish councilors – for the work that they do in the community on our behalf."
He continued, "I am delighted to be able to take the bill through Parliament and to protect people's freedom to pray, because it is an important issue."
Penny Mordaunt, the parliamentary under-secretary of state for communities, said, "We support allowing local authorities the freedom to pray if they wish to and making this a matter of local choice once again."
She continued, "[The bill rights] a wrong decision that was taken by the High Court when it ruled that councils had no power to carry on the centuries-old tradition of holding prayers at their meetings.
"The bill will not compel anyone to pray or any local authority to include prayers in their official business, nor does it define what constitutes prayer. The bill will ensure that local authorities can support, facilitate and be represented at events with a religious element. Again, nothing in the bill will compel a local authority to do anything that it cannot already do, such as organize a Remembrance Sunday event safely by closing a road for a short time. Rather, it protects local authorities from those with an axe to grind, who might wish to challenge such a decision."
According to a report from the Christian Institute, the next step for the bill will be consideration in committee in January.
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