Cultural traditions that give the impression of State-endorsement of religion, such as the prayer before the start of each Dáil session, should be ditched according to Ronan McCrea, a law lecturer at University College London. Writing in The Irish Times he says that while such traditions might be mere cultural symbols, migrants from abroad might not understand that and mistake them for actual State endorsement of a particular religion.
“The problem with the European arrangements [favouring certain religious symbols] is that they rely to a large degree on insider knowledge that allows people to distinguish between the situation on paper and the actual situation. . . If one comes from a society where politics and religion are deeply intertwined, prayers in parliament may appear to be much more than a cultural symbol.”
He added: “This divide between symbolic religiosity and substantive secular politics leaves European societies open to allegations of hypocrisy when they ask migrants from areas of the world with more muscular religion to accept that religion and politics are separate and that religiously controversial ideas such as free speech on religion and gay rights must be accepted.”
Specifically, he believes the prayer at the start of each Dáil session to be particularly problematic: “It is hard to see a prayer that involves a wish that “Christ Our Lord” will guide parliamentarians’ work as a mere cultural symbol.” He concludes: “If we wish migrants to this country to feel at home and to accept a division between religion and politics that may be challenging for them, it is important that the majority appear to honour those commitments too.”
