If you weren’t following last night’s reports from the full council meeting through our Twitter or Facebook updates, you’ll have missed the vote on whether the Isle of Wight council should continue to hold prayers before their meetings.
The issue was raised after a case was taken to High Court by the National Secular Society and an atheist councillor in Devon, challenging religious prayers being on meeting agendas. The outcome being that the Judge ruled that, “Prayers as part of the formal meeting of a council is not lawful”.
Choice of five options
Isle of Wight councillors were last night presented with five options to consider in relation to the issue.
- Option 1 To cease holding Christian prayers as part of formal Full Council meetings.
- Option 2 To start Full Council meetings with a short period of quiet reflection.
- Option 3 To hold prayers informally prior to the start of Full Council meetings.
- Option 4 To hold prayers as part of formal Full Council meetings and to invite different faiths to lead the prayers and to have a quiet period of reflection instead of prayers on occasion.
- Option 5 To have Christian prayers as part of formal Full Council meetings, led by the Chaplin to the Chairman to the Council, in line with existing arrangements.
Presenting the report, which revealed that 73.72% of Island residents indicated they were Christians (according to the 2001 census), Cllr Pugh urged members to vote for Option 5, ie. keep things as they currently are.
“I’m not the only atheist,” says Lumley
Cllr Lumley, who had proposed a motion back in 2009 to remove prayers from council meetings said that he would not be voting for Option 5.
“I feel sad that we have to do this”, he said, but adding that he’d accepted that his previous motion was rejected. He warned of the risk of legal challenge if the council adopted Option 5, not by himself he added, but reminding members that he was not the only atheist on the Island.
Cllrs Whittle, Abraham, Stewart and Fuller all said they would support Option 5 to retain prayers before the council meeting.
“Respect for all”
Cllr Bacon explained that faith was something much wider that than a Christian belief it was about ‘respect for all’.
He said he felt that Option 3 would be the best option and the voting for Option 5 would send the wrong message.
The vote
29 members (there were a few absent last night) voted in favour of Option 5. Cllrs Bacon and Lumley who voted against. Cllr Hutchinson abstained.
Image: Nanny Snowflake under CC BY 2.0
