Lord Roberts of Llandudno asked peers to consider “widening the scope
of House of Lords prayers into devotions encompassing other Christian
traditions and the faiths that are represented in the House”.
He suggested a minute of silence and reflection in addition to the
prayers out of consideration for the diversity of faiths and
denominations in the House of Lords and wider society.
The proposal was met with opposition from the Chairman of Committees,
Lord Brabazon of Tara, who said there were no plans to change the
prayers.
He noted that the practice of prayers in the House of Lords went back to the 1500s and that change might be “premature”.
“Recent changes to the form of prayers included allowing a choice
from a range of Psalms, which was agreed by the House in 1970, and again
in 1979, and one or two other minor changes," he said.
“It might be a little premature to consider changing them now.”
Lord Brabazon added: “I do not believe that there is anything in the
prayers which could possibly be seen as offensive to members of other
religions.”
Prayers are conducted by a bishop at the start of each sitting of the
House of Lords but attendance is voluntary, not compulsory.
While Lord Hughes of Woodside, an honorary vice-president of the
British Humanist Association, said his personal preference was that
there be no prayers in the House of Lords at all, other peers spoke in
favour of the status quo.
Lord Anderson of Swansea said “many” of the peers in the House of
Lords were “wholly satisfied with the timeless sentiments and
superlative prose of the present prayers”.
Lord Cormack said: “Many in this House who are not of the Christian
faith, such as my noble friend who sits beside me who is a Hindu, warmly
welcome the sentiments contained in the Prayers and the majesty of the
language in which they are uttered.”