Lord's Prayer advert: Church of England advert banned by cinemas because it might be offensive

[Valin]

The Independent UK:

'It is extraordinary cinemas rule it is inappropriate for an advert on prayer to be shown in the week before Christmas'

Loulla-Mae Eleftheriou-Smith

11/23/15

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZayr-FDgf4

 

An advert featuring the Lord's Prayer has been banned from cinemas in case it offends people. The Church of England said it had been left “bewildered” over the decision not to show the advert promoting Christian prayer in cinemas across the UK the week before Christmas.

 

The ad shows a number of people from different walks of life reciting or singing lines from the Lord’s Prayer, starting with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, walking through a park. His words are followed by those of a police officer, a weightlifter, a farmer, a congregation at a wedding and class of school children, among others in the minute-long piece of work.

 

The ad was released as part of the Church’s launch of justpray.uk, a “new website to promote the renewal of prayer in a digital age,” and was due to be screened UK-wide in Odeon, Cineworld and Vue cinemas ahead of showings of Star Wars: The Force Awakens before Christmas. But the ad has been pulled by the Digital Cinema Media (DCM) agency, which handles advertising in cinemas for the three major UK chains.

 

(Snip)