Following up on a previous posting [Reciting the Lord's Prayer at City Council] I note that the Durham city council (west of Toronto) voted on Wednesday to make prayers before the meeting "voluntary." There was an excellent news clip about this on CityTV and you can watch it here. I'm particularly impressed with Mayor Bob Shapherd of Uxbridge (a member of the council) who declared that he is a non-believer and doesn't want to be a hypocrite when he's forced to recite something he doesn't believe. I'm embarrassed that there are Canadian politicians who are stupid enough to think that public recital of a Christian prayer is a good thing. I'm proud of those who challenged them.
My own city council in Mississauga also prays before meetings. I've written to my councillor, Katie Mahoney, but she hasn't replied.
[Hat Tip: Richard Dawkins]
Both sides of Australian federal politics are having a holier-than-thou pissing contest at the moment. I weep for my country.
ReplyDeleteLarry, you should post your council member's email and ask for letters of support for your position.
ReplyDeleteA number of cities in the GTA have huge Chinese populations. When are their councils going to start opening with Buddhist prayers?
ReplyDeleteI also live in Mississauga and had no idea council was up to these kinds of shenanigans.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes it worse is that 30% of Mississauga residents are not Christian. And that's 2001 census data--it must be a bigger number now.