War Memorial “not responsible for changing the format” of religious Anzac Day service

The Australian War Memorial is continuing to wipe its hands of any responsibility for the imposition of Christianity in the annual Anzac Day Dawn Service, despite a Christian military chaplain criticising the religious elements of the commemoration as being exclusionary.

In a letter to the Rationalist Society of Australia  last month, the War Memorial repeated the line that it merely hosted the event on behalf of the ACT branch of the Returned & Services League (RSL) and was “not responsible for changing the format of the Anzac Day Dawn Service”. 

In September, the RSA had asked the director of the War Memorial, Matt Anderson, whether the institution would be making much-needed secular reform to the content in the lead-up to the 2027 commemoration. The RSA had noted that the military chaplain who presided over this year’s Anzac Day Dawn Service had suggested that the Lord’s Prayer be omitted because the event was “a national ceremonial event not a Christian service”.

Read the full article here on the website of the Rationalist Society of Australia.