Christian Radio Ad in UK Pulled, Religious Discrimination Claims Called Too 'Political' to Air
An appeals court in the U.K. has upheld a previous ruling that banned a radio advertisement that asked Christians to report workplace discrimination based on their religion.
The 30 second advertisement was created for Premier Christian Radio and was part of a new campaign for a "fairer society."
Peter Kerridge, Premier Christian Radio's chief executive, said that the decision was an "attack on freedom of speech" and "a bad day for democracy in general," according to The Christian Telegraph.
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The ad stated the following:
"We are CCP. Surveys have shown that over 60 percent of active Christians are being increasingly marginalized in the workplace. We are concerned to get the most accurate data to inform the public debate. We will then use this data to help a fairer society. Please visit CCPmagazines.co.uk and report your experiences."
The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport banned the ad after the Radio Advertising Clearance Center (RACC) claimed that it had a political objective.
Master of the Rolls Lord Dyson agreed that the commercial was unlawful, insisting that the ad was "directed to the political end of making a fairer society by reducing or eliminating the marginalization of Christians in the workplace."
Still, others are worried that such a benign ad was deemed unlawful and pulled from the public airwaves.
"It's startling that such an innocuous ad, set to be broadcast on a Christian radio station, should be deemed unlawful. It's clearly an attempt to gain information for the laudable aim of creating a fairer society. There is no attempt in the advert to persuade anyone to adopt a particular political position," Andrea Minichiello Williams, chief executive of Christian Legal Centre, said in a statement.
"The court's decision is chilling, as well as bewildering. We have seen Christian adverts being banned in other areas whilst those of other special interest groups have been allowed … We've seen TV adverts for abortion clinics, bus ads by humanists claiming there is probably no God and bus ads by a gay campaign group telling us to 'get over it.' Christian adverts in response to the 'get over it' posters were not allowed," she added.
