The Front Page: Is it time to cancel Easter in New Zealand?

Changes to the New Zealand population raise the question of whether the country should stop every April in recognition of a holiday associated with one of many religions in the country.

In the 2018 census, 2.2 million people said that they have no religion at all. That's compared to the 1.3 million people affiliated with one of the five Christian denominations.

The statistics go even deeper, showing that there are now 157 religious affiliations around the country.

This data was put to Newstalk ZB's Sunday at Six Host and the lead chaplain at Media Chaplaincy, Reverend Frank Ritchie on today's episode of The Front Page podcast, in an effort to grapple with the complex role religion continues to play in the evolving cultural context of New Zealand.

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• Follow the Front Page podcast here.

Ritchie isn't surprised by the steady shift of people away from organised religion.

"In my 45 years of life, I've watched New Zealand change significantly as a nation, and that figure of people connected to organised religion keeps declining – and personally, I don't think it's a negative thing," says Ritchie.

While the influx of people from countries with different worldviews would have contributed to that drop, Ritchie says there's also been an important shift among New Zealanders.

"I think there's a growing honesty in New Zealand. Back in the day, you would have had a lot of people who were christened or baptised as Anglican, Catholic or Presbyterian and then as they grew up they would have recognised themselves as being Christian whether they went to church or not.

"I think that need to culturally say that you're Christian when you might not necessarily be something that you hold to be true is decreasing. What I think we're seeing as time progresses is New Zealanders becoming more honest."

Asked whether he thought it was still appropriate for the nation to have this mandated holiday when there was such a widespread of religious affiliations across the country, Ritchie said he understood why some might be asking this question.

"People who don't have any sort of faith whatsoever might see it as confusing that a nation would elevate the celebration of one religion's holy days over another. But as someone who's travelled a bit to nations that are highly religious but hold to a different religion than what has been predominant in New Zealand's history, the idea is not strange at all.

"For instance, I spent time with Muslim friends in Israel and Palestine and found a whole lot of commonality. There's an understanding we have of each other because we have a shared religious way of viewing the world that say my atheist friends don't have. Even here in New Zealand, I've sat down with a number of people from other religions and they have no problem that we celebrate Easter and Christmas."

Reverend Frank Ritchie appeared on the Front Page podcast. Photo / Supplied

This conversation is, however, not set in stone. And there is perhaps an argument to be made for having a set number of public holidays over the course of a year, which people from different religious affiliations can take at a time that better aligns with their traditions.

"I would hope that in our shifting and changing worldview in New Zealand that anybody, alongside their employer, would be able to take off days that are significant for them for the expression of life," says Ritchie.

"But I am reticent, even for people who don't have a faith, of taking Easter and Christmas off the table because I like the idea that we have mandated days where the country just takes some days off."

This last point is a cause of great consternation among business owners who have long demanded an end to Easter trading limitations.

Ritchie, however, argues that there's a strong non-religious argument to be made for keeping these trading bans in place.

"I know for businesses right now this will be a bit of a struggle because of what we've experienced with the pandemic, but we are going to get out to the other side of this," he says.

"I struggle with a worldview that predominantly views us as consumers and workers and doesn't have any days that are mandated as taking time off.

"I know people who have been into other countries for instance, where say, Ramadan gets celebrated. And while there are some frustrations with it … it amazes me how often people realise that slowing down then not being able to purchase or having to work on particular days is really healthy.

"I think having days where we do that together as a nation is really healthy."

Ironically, despite the backlash against the holiday aspect of Easter, corporates have also used holiday for commercial gain, with businesses promoting chocolates, baked goods and other food items every year.

This is an issue that Ritchie takes particular exception to this, but not only because of his religious background.

"This year, I have seen a proliferation of variants of the traditional hot cross buns. And as someone who just loves a good traditional bun, heated in the oven followed by lashings of butter, I'd like to see that sort of commercialism take a back seat.

Not everyone will agree with Ritchie's highly controversial views on hot cross buns, but that's ultimately part of living in a country that's increasingly diverse.

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The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am.

• You can follow the podcast at nzherald.co.nz, iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.