Editorial: Prayers for school to decide

Modern New Zealand has changed much in acknowledgment of its multi-racial population and diversity of religious and non-religious beliefs. Practices have been, and will continue to be, modified to reflect the new reality. But any change to the procedures of a particular institution must, first and foremost, reflect the views of the people who use it. If 91 per cent of parents at Remuera's Victoria Avenue Primary School say they wish to retain the Lord's Prayer at weekly assemblies, that should be the end of the matter.

The overwhelming vote in favour of the recital has, however, cut no ice with one parent, Nicki Butt, who says a prayer from any religion is not appropriate in a secular state school. Children, she says, should not be "coerced" into one religion from the age of 5 or 6. Miffed at Victoria Avenue School's response to her complaint, she has applied for a hearing at the Human Rights Tribunal.

Dr Butt seems bound for disappointment. This is territory previously traversed, unsuccessfully, by Andrew Williams, a former North Shore City councillor, and Matt Robson, during his final term as a Progressive MP. Both complained about the old English prayer that preceded sittings of their respective institutions, saying it failed to reflect the nature of modern society. Both received little change from human rights commissioners.

If anything, Dr Butt's case is even weaker. Victoria Avenue School sits in an area that has not undergone the dynamic change of many New Zealand communities. A Christian heritage remains the dominant feature. The Lord's Prayer has been recited throughout the school's 52-year history, and the vast majority of parents are happy for the practice to continue. The school's board of trustees, for its part, is, quite correctly, keen to reflect the community.

The Education Act is also unlikely to aid Dr Butt's case. It demands secular teaching, but leaves trust boards with some scope to determine the character of a school. Victoria Avenue School has seized upon a provision that allows schools to "close" for a limited time each week for the "purpose of religious instruction".

In practice, this creates no great problem for parents who do not wish their child to have to recite the Lord's Prayer. The school, quite reasonably, provides alternative activities until after the reading. This does not satisfy Dr Butt, who says she does not want her children "marginalised" by being taken out of assembly. If there is any marginalisation, however, the parents are the instigators. Those parents could, of course, also send their children to a school that does not share Victoria Avenue's customs.

Mediation between the parties has failed, and the case is now headed for the Human Rights Tribunal. That, in itself, is a sad commentary on modern attitudes. At the time of Andrew Williams' campaign on the North Shore, the Chief Human Rights Commissioner, Rosslyn Noonan, reprimanded those involved by noting this was an issue that she would expect "mature New Zealanders should be able to sort out". Tolerance, unfortunately, is often in short supply when tradition brushes up against the rights endowed by modern society.

Most commonly, that tolerance is demanded for the practices of minority groups. But it applies no less to mainstream thinking. In time, if the composition of its roll changes, Victoria Avenue School may decide to drop the Lord's Prayer, or adopt a new reading. For now, however, it is very much in tune with the community it serves.