The Church of England has said it is “bewildered” by the refusal of the country’s leading cinemas to show a 60 second advert of The Lord’s Prayer, adding that the “plain silly” decision could have a “chilling effect” on free speech.
The Church’s response follows its launch of a new website to promote the renewal of prayer in a digital age.
The website JustPray.uk creates a place for prayer with advice on what prayer is and how to pray. The site also provides a “live prayer” feed of prayers being prayed across the globe via Twitter, Instagram and Vine.
The Church has produced an advert promoting the new website to be shown in cinemas from December 18 2015 as part of the ad reel before Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
The 60 second advert features Christians from all walks of life praying one line of the Lord’s prayer and includes weight lifters, a police officer, a commuter, refugees in a support centre, school children, a mourner at a graveside, a festival goer and the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The Church has announced today that the country’s three largest cinema chains Odeon, Cineworld and Vue - who control 80% of cinema screens around the country - have refused to show the advert because they believe it “carries the risk of upsetting, or offending, audiences”.
Despite the film receiving clearance from both the Cinema Advertising Authority and British Board of Film Classification, the cinemas are still refusing to show the advert.
The Rev. Arun Arora, Director of Communications for the Church of England, said:
“The prospect of a multi-generational cultural event offered by the release of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” on 18 December – 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 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.
“In the meantime people should visit the site, see the film themselves and make up their own minds as to whether they are upset or offended by it.”
The decision by the cinema chains has also been criticised by Bishop Nick in the Yorkshire Post and in his Blog, 'Musings of a Restless Bishop'
"So, why do the cinema people think prayer is so dangerous", he writes. "And who exactly is going to be offended by a one-minute advert that consists of a pile of people saying a phrase of the Lord’s Prayer in sequence? No propaganda. No coercion. No pressure. Just an encouraging invitation.
"What is the problem? Well, the problem is basically the illiteracy of a liberal culture that thinks itself to be intellectually mature and culturally sound. This culture assumes (I choose the word carefully) that secular humanism is neutral - and self-evidently ‘true’ - and that, by definition, any religious world view is somewhere up the scale of irrational and loaded madness."
He concludes, "There is still time for the people who run the cinema chains to change their mind. They might even invite a conversation about reality ‘out there’ in the world. But, even if they don’t, they have exposed yet again the intellectual and cultural redundancy of a dominant knee-jerk assumption about religion and the world. It would be funny if it weren’t so common."
The new website and advert can be seen here: justpray.uk
• Just Pray Film - https://youtu.be/vlUXh4mx4gI
• Pollyanna on Prayer - https://youtu.be/iJfNCEXP5wY
• Joe on Prayer - https://youtu.be/9Nv0KUnr7y0
• Jonny on Prayer - https://youtu.be/G6uoZ7XY894
Posters and Postcards are available for churches and schools to help pass on the prayer website - four different designs taken from the film - including our wedding couple, Kam and Ricky who invited us to their big day in St Stephen's, Lindley, Huddersfield in October.
You can order them here at www.justpray.uk/promote/