Lachlan Hunter MLA recently made a spirited defence of reciting the Lord’s Prayer in the WA Parliament. I agree with him that reciting the Lord’s Prayer before parliamentary sittings is a sign that all present are answerable to a higher authority. I would like to add a few points, the most important of which is that the Lord’s Prayer is not just a statement of faith in God; it is a statement of faith in humanity. The view of the human person symbolised by the Lord’s Prayer also stands in stark contrast to totalitarian ideology that seeks to subject the individual to the power of the state. By reciting the Lord’s Prayer, Parliament doesn’t impose a doctrine on people.