Church 'Bewildered' Over Advert Ban

Monday November 23

The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland has said it is "bewildering" and "hard to understand" why cinema chains were refusing to screen an advert featuring the Lord's Prayer before Christmas.

The Church of England’s advert featuring the Archbishop of Canterbury and others each reciting a line of the Lord’s Prayer was to have been shown in the approach to Christmas before the upcoming Star Wars film.

However Digital Cinema Media, the agency that handles adverts for the three biggest cinema chains has refused the advert on the grounds that it could offend people of other or no faith.

The Rt Rev Dr Angus Morrison said: "We share the bewilderment of our friends in the Church of England that the Lord's Prayer could ever be viewed as offensive.

"Initiatives like these are an excellent antidote to the rampant commercialism at this time of year.

"It's hard to understand why adverts persuading people to spend more money than they have or those that glorify sex and violence are apparently acceptable but one that calls for a peaceful, fair world are not.

"We will happily show this advertisement to all our congregations to complement our own Advent campaign and call on other denominations to do the same.

"It's ironic, but this publicity may actually ensure it is seen even more widely than would originally have been possible."

Arun Arora, director of communications for the Church of England, said: “The prospect of a multigenerational cultural event offered by the release of Star Wars: the Force Awakens on December 18 – a week before Christmas Day – was too good an opportunity to miss and we are bewildered by the decision of the cinemas.

“The Lord’s Prayer is prayed by billions of people across the globe every day and in this country has been part of everyday life for centuries. Prayer permeates every aspect of our culture from pop songs and requiems to daily assemblies and national commemorations. For millions of people in the United Kingdom, prayer is a constant part of their lives whether as part of thanksgiving and praise, or as a companion through their darkest hours.

“In one way the decision of the cinemas is just plain silly but the fact that they have insisted upon it makes it rather chilling in terms of limiting free speech. There is still time for the cinemas to change their mind and we would certainly welcome that.”

The advert is to promote a new Church of England website, JustPray.uk, encouraging people to pray.

Comments

Margaret Cubitt - Monday, November 23rd, 2015

“I think the cinema people may be worried that they are asked to show similar adverts for other faiths and if they have shown a Christian advert they would then be obliged to show others on the grounds of equality. I agree that other adverts really concern me especially those which promote gambling. It is a great idea to show the advert in all our churches and I'm sure this controversy will give greater publicity to the advert. Christmas has been made into Xmas, people are sending happy holiday cards and our festival has been taken over by commercialism so we have to stand firm!!”

Rev Dr John Cameron - Saturday, November 28th, 2015

“While I think the Church of England’s cinema advert is a mistake, atheists who put posters on London buses proclaiming: “There’s probably no God” are hardly in a position to complain. As for Digital Cinema Media fearing the advert will offend, those subjected its own barrage of pre-film consumerism (particularly that aimed at children) are too numb to feel anything. ”

Add a reply

All fields are required. Email address will not be published.