'Sickulars' kept this traditional prayer advertisement out of cinemas – in England
The disease, so to speak, is spreading! If you thought India could go to lengths over debating how public religion ought to be, you haven't been paying attention to the West. And we're not talking aboutlaïcité or even the War on Christmas.
An advertisement produced for the Church of England, which was meant to be shown before the new Star Wars film will not be seen in most of Britain's movie theatres. That's because Digital Cinema Media, a company that according to the New York Times, handles 80% of advertising in British cinemas, turned down the ad saying it doesn't accept political or religious advertising and doesn't want to cause offence, intentionally or inadvertantly.
(2/4) Some advertisements - unintentionally or otherwise – could cause offence to those of differing political persuasions...
— Digital Cinema Media (@DCM_cinema_news) November 22, 2015
Predictably, that statement has been the one causing offence, with the church saying it would have a "chilling effect" on free speech, while an official spokesperson for UK Prime Minister David Cameron called it "ridiculous."
The ad, above, features lines from the Lord's Prayer, a common Christian chant, against visuals of various people reciting it. The Church of England had hoped the ad would be the high point of its Just Pray campaign ahead of Christmas this year. Instead, it's turned into the UK's own 'sickular' controversy that has got people in the country debating what secularism means.
outrageous..This is a prayer that is 2000 years old and informs our whole culture. Expect U turn from cinemas #askboris @torrentcastle
— Boris Johnson (@MayorofLondon) November 23, 2015
I gather @BritainFirst prayed the Lord's Prayer at their conference. Perhaps they're unaware that Jesus was a Palestinian Jewish refugee.
— Symon Hill (@SymonHill) November 21, 2015