(via Report: C of E’s right to 26 seats in Lords should be repealed | World news | The Guardian)

The Church of England’s automatic right to appoint 26 bishops to the House of Lords should be repealed, a report by a group representing more than 100 parliamentarians will recommend this week.

An all-party caucus of humanist MPs and peers says reform of the way parliament works must include removing the guarantee of seats in the upper house for Anglican bishops.

The All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group (APPHG), comprised of 115 MPs and members of the Lords, point out that the only other country where senior clerics must have seats in a parliament is Iran.  …

These include two that directly benefited the C of E, the report says. In the first bishops’ votes helped remove a clause in the Equality Act 2010, which enabled the C of E to have wider exemptions in its employment practices.

The other vote on the Education and Adoption Act 2016 ensured that C of E maintained schools that are failing can be forcibly converted to academies, which the report says gave the church more control over its schools.

The report criticises the unique speaking rights afforded to Anglican bishops and access to officials who are charged with writing new laws.

On the issue of prayers before crucial Commons votes, one MP in the report said: “I stand outside the House of Commons chamber at the start of the session, peering through the window as colleagues take part in prayers. Whilst I appreciate it means a lot to them, the rituals make me feel excluded. I’m unable to take part in the start of the parliamentary day unless I lie and profess to believe in something I do not.”

The report recommends replacing prayers with a daily “time for reflection” similar to that held in the Scottish parliament, which would be “inclusive of the broad range of religious and non-religious worldviews in today’s UK”.  …