A councillor who said he hoped no “heathens” were present at a recent meeting has breached rules regarding respect and equality, the National Secular Society has said.
The NSS has told Worcestershire County Council’s monitoring officer that Conservative councillor Tony Miller’s remarks during a meeting this month were in breach of the Councillor Code of Conduct.
At the start of the meeting, Cllr Miller (pictured, right) objected to the fact that no chaplain was present to hold a prayer, calling this “disrespectful” because council meetings have “always started” with prayers.
He said: “We are not heathens. I hope we’re not anyway”.
He then invited “those who agree” to stand while he asked God to “bless this meeting” in the “name of our Lord Jesus Christ”.
NSS: Councillor’s remarks “directly discriminatory”
“Heathen” is defined as an “offensive” term for “a person who has no religion, or who belongs to a religion that is not Christianity, Judaism, or Islam”.
The NSS told the council Cllr Miller was implying he “hoped nobody present in the meeting was nonreligious or belonged to a different religion from the Abrahamic faiths”.
They said this, coupled with the use of the derogatory term ‘heathen’, is “directly discriminatory against people of no religion, and minority religions that are non-Abrahamic”.
The NSS said the statements breached the code requiring councillors’ duties to “promote equalities” and “treat other councillors and members of the public with respect”.
The code says councillors “have a central role to play” in ensuring there is a “strong vision and public commitment to equality across public services.”
All local authorities have a duty under equality law to “advance equality of opportunity” and “foster good relations between people” with different protected characteristics, including different religions and beliefs.
Many councils have stopped holding prayers before meetings in order to make them inclusive of people of all religions and beliefs. This includes St Albans City and District Council, which voted in March to end prayers because they may “exclude or alienate individuals of different faiths or those without religious beliefs”.
Christians are a minority in England, making up 46% of the population.
NSS: “This derogatory language has no place in local government”
NSS head of campaigns Megan Manson said: “It’s bad enough that Cllr Miller tried to aggressively impose his religion on the meeting.
“It’s even worse that he used the slur ‘heathen’ and strongly implied those of no religion or minority religions were not welcome.
“Councils have a duty to promote equality and good relations between people of all religions and beliefs. Cllr Miller’s outburst is incompatible with this duty. No councillor or member of the public should feel unwelcome at Worcestershire County Council meetings because of their religion or belief. This derogatory language has no place in local government.
“The incident underlines the divisive and inappropriate nature of prayers at councils. Local government business should be conducted in a manner which is inclusive of all in Worcestershire’s diverse community – not as a platform for one particular religion.
“We urge Worcestershire County Council to learn from this incident and remove prayers from the beginning of its meetings”.