Queensland Liberal National party senators have committed to leading the pushback against a Greens move to remove the Lord’s prayer from the start of Senate sittings.

Lee Rhiannon led the Greens’ push to abolish the prayer last month and, backed by Labor, passed a motion calling for an alternative start to proceedings, which would see senators reflecting in silence following the statement “let us in silence pray or reflect upon our responsibilities to all people of Australia and to future generations”.

The move was supported by progressive religious leaders, including Fr Rod Bower of the Anglican parish of Gosford, Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins of the Temple Emanuel at Woollahra and Reverend Margaret Mayman of Pitt St Uniting church.

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The motion’s success led to an inquiry into whether the Lord’s prayer should continue to open parliament being established and opened to submissions.

But at the state convention of the LNP in Queensland, Matt Canavan, who had co-sponsored the “urgent” motion with Amanda Stoker, called for the party to fight back against the attempt.

“Whether or not you come from a Christian heritage or not, I think the sentiments that are included in the prayer is something that is a shared heritage and insight for a western civilisation like ours,” Canavan, a practising Catholic, told the room.

“Not everything in the Lord’s prayer goes to matters of belief and spiritualism but the idea that we should forgive others, the idea that we should take on board our own deficiencies and not seek to blame others for what we do, that we should be humble, particularly those of us who have power in our nation, are [ideas] that we can all share.

“The idea that we should replace what is something that has lasted thousands of years, passed down by generation to generation, with some ... unlinked statement of spiritualism I think would be a retrograde step in our culture.

“We should cherish those things passed down to us, even if some of us don’t quite share the full spiritual or religious views of that heritage. We can still, of course, understand universal truths are embodied in a prayer such as Our Father and, in a respectful way, links us to our past, cherishes that past, and I believe ensure our leaders and our parliamentarians act in a way which is consistent with the great heritage of this country and the broader civilisation [of which] we are part.”

The motion, which does not bind the parliamentary party but was put forward by two members of the Coalition party room, was overwhelmingly passed with a show of hands, with just one dissenter.

The party members, in a closed session, which is conducted away from the media, also passed a motion calling for the LNP to “oppose euthanasia or assisted suicide legislation while supporting quality palliative care”.

But there was no attempt to bind the party members to a vote, with the Coalition having traditionally established a conscience vote on these matters.

When the Senate resumes in August, it will debate David Leyonhjelm’s push to return the legislative power to the territories to allow for legal assisted suicide, a move that is expected to pass given both major parties will allow a free vote.