A Prayer For The People’s House
The Saturday Huddle is a weekly column that features opinion, analysis, and reflections on Huddle stories, podcasts, and business news in the region. Mark Leger is the Director of News Content for Acadia Broadcasting and Huddle.
I was at a community Christmas event in mid-December and a Catholic priest was asked to give the main address on the theme of “Keeping Christ in Christmas.”
It was a truly inspirational speech, but not only because he reminded us of the Christian heritage of the holiday season and the associated values like generosity, love, and kindness that should guide our thoughts and actions year-round.
He also managed to “keep Christ in Christmas” and be inclusive at the same time, reminding everyone that other world religions and cultures have celebrations during this time and share common values. He was thoughtful, respectful, learned, and stayed on this message for the entire speech.
No one who frets over greetings like “Happy Holidays” replacing “Merry Christmas” should have left the room feeling defensive. The priest had a gift for speaking about the importance of inclusiveness without sidelining or ignoring the Christian heritage of the season.
I grew up Catholic, a very conservative and traditional Christian denomination; I’ve never heard a priest outline a more progressive, inclusive vision of living the faith.
Sadly, I wasn’t similarly inspired by the Progressive Conservative government of New Brunswick when it recently refused a request to recite a Hindu prayer at the beginning of a session of the province’s legislature. It was a gesture of close-mindedness in sharp contrast to the priest’s embrace of a spirit of openness.
On each day the legislature sits, an MLA recites the Lord’s Prayer. Provinces like Ontario and Nova Scotia have already replaced the practice with a moment of reflection or made it more inclusive by introducing prayers from other faiths.
In 2019, Green MLA Kevin Arseneau tried to have New Brunswick’s prayer changed to a moment of silence. Premier Blaine Higgs flatly rejected the idea, according to a CBC story at the time.
“As long as I’m here in government, it’s here to stay,” said Higgs. “I respect everyone’s individual views and rights and freedoms and religion, but there are some traditions we have that I think are important to New Brunswick and important to our process, and we have to retain them.”
This time around, the request for a change in practice was made by Rajan Zed, a Nevada resident and president of the Universal Society of Hinduism. Zed has recited Hindu prayers in many U.S. government bodies, from municipal councils to the U.S. Senate. The provincial government turned down his request to do it once here, a decision he quite rightly says is out of step with the values of a diverse, inclusive society.
“Since New Brunswick’s Legislative Assembly represented every resident of New Brunswick irrespective of religion/denomination/non-belief,” reads a statement on Zed’s website, “it would be quite befitting in this increasingly diverse state to do a rotation of prayers representing major religions and aboriginal spirituality and including slots for the thoughts of non-believers.”
We live in a country that should embrace a spirit of respect and inclusiveness. There are generations of Indigenous people and immigrants from different countries and religions. The government is democratic with constitutionally entrenched individual rights and freedoms. It should have no practices that are exclusive to one faith or cultural background.
Institutions like churches and governments can be rigid and bound by traditions. It’s up to individuals and leaders to challenge and question practices over time, keeping the ones that make sense and discarding the ones that don’t.
As inspired as I am by speeches by leaders like the priest, I’m also exasperated by heads of governments unwilling to change with the times; to lead in an inclusive way. “As long as I’m here in government, it’s here to stay,” said Higgs.
Fine. I don’t think it has to go. Keep the prayer, just as you can keep “Christ in Christmas.” Just let everyone else have a say – or a prayer – in the people’s house.