TORONTO, CANADA, March 19, 2008: (Via Religion News Service) The premier of Ontario has dropped a political hot potato with his recent announcement that the daily recitation of the Lord’s Prayer in the provincial legislature should be dropped. “It’s time for us to ensure that we have a prayer that better reflects our diversity,” Dalton McGuinty, a Liberal Party member, said last month. “The members of the Ontario Legislature reflect the diversity of Ontario — be it Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or agnostic. It is time for our practices to do the same.”
Canadian leaders have been increasingly more supportive of religious pluralism. In 2007, at the opening of the Swaminarayan Mandir in Toronto, McGuinty said “Toronto is a place where people from all over the world can come together to create something beautiful — a strong and diverse society.” At the same event, Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper said “Today we celebrate one of our country’s greatest strengths–its commitment to pluralism.”
McGuinty’s proposal has touched off a decidedly religious debate in largely secular Canada, and one that echoes similar fights south of the border over the proper role of religion in civic spheres.
The U.S. debate, for the most part, has not centered on the Lord’s Prayer but on other references to the divine — specifically, whether civic councils can open with prayers that end “in Jesus’ name.” That’s the fight playing out in a federal appeals court in Richmond, Va.