Wagga City Council has moved to replace the traditional prayer said at the start of each ordinary meeting with a "reflection" that does not mention God or religion.
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Councillors will vote on Monday night on the adoption of an updated code of meeting practice, which includes swapping out the "exclusive" religious opening.
The current prayer calls on Almighty God to protect the councillors and help them govern with justice, ending with the traditional amen.
In contrast, the proposed reflection which would replace the prayer calls on the councillors to reflect upon their responsibilities to the community and to faithfully carry out their duties.
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Wagga councillor Rod Kendall plans to support the change as he feels the reflection more accurately represents the city's multicultural and religious diversity.
"It basically allows for all members of the community to feel a part of that initial opening of council - regardless of their religious or other beliefs," he said.
"The current prayer is very much Christian-orientated and therefore somewhat exclusive."
Mark Edwards, the Bishop of the Wagga Catholic Diocese, said he felt the prayer was quite inclusive as many religions believe in a God.
"It doesn't strike me as being exclusive in the slightest and for most of the community that prayer would make a lot of sense I think," he said.
Bishop Edwards said he would be disappointed to see the councillors vote to remove the prayer and called on people to realise being tolerant goes both ways.
"I think it's a beautiful prayer and I'd be sad to see it change," he said.
"It would be nice if people could be tolerant about the fact that God is important for over two thirds of Australia's population."
The previous attempt to remove the prayer from meetings in 2019 was ultimately rejected following a flood of opposition from members of the community.
Wagga councillor Tim Koschel is not religious but plans to once again vote to keep the prayer to support those who are.
"It wouldn't worry me if we had both the prayer and the reflection, but I think removing the prayer is a little bit offensive to those who are of a religious background," he said.
Data from the ABS census released earlier this year revealed the number of Wagga residents who affiliate with a religion is in a notable decline.
Just over 31 per cent of residents said they are not religious in the 2021 census, compared to just 22 per cent in 2016.
Cr Kendall is an Anglican but said this trend was the key reason why he was supportive of replacing the prayer with a reflection.
"Wagga's not just becoming more multicultural there's also a significant move away from mainstream religion," he said.
"My belief is this is really an attempt to be more inclusive to the whole of Wagga's community, still recognising that high level of Christianity ... but allowing people of all faiths to undertake a reflection that's appropriate for them."
This sentiment was shared by Thom Paton, a community development officer with the Multicultural Council of Wagga.
"The Wagga local government area has community members from 112 different countries of origin and 62 different faiths so the move to a reflection really celebrates that," he said.
The updated code of meeting practice was placed on public exhibition by Wagga City Council from June 15 to July 12 but no submissions were received.
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