Hypocrisy of cinemas
Chains ban prayer ad – while selling children violence and booze
cinemas have banned an advert encouraging prayer while letting children see commercials selling alcohol and ultraviolent video games.
The 60-second recording of the Lord’s Prayer was scheduled to be shown ahead of screenings of the new star Wars film before christmas.
But it was pulled after the company which sells advertising at the Odeon, cineworld and Vue chains said the church of england film could be seen as offensive.
christian and muslim leaders, mPs and even the outspoken atheist Richard Dawkins said the decision was ridiculous.
Justin Welby, the archbishop of canterbury, said: ‘This advert is about as offensive as a carol service or a church service on christmas Day.’
He reads a line of the prayer in the advert, with others spoken by children, police, weightlifters, refugees and a gospel choir.
it ends with a link to JustPray.uk, a website featuring prayers submitted via social media. The advert was cleared by the cinema advertising authority and rated U – suitable for all – by the British Board of Film classification.
cofe spokesman Reverend arun arora, said he was baffled by the ban, adding: ‘in one way the decision of the cinemas is just plain silly but the fact they have insisted upon it makes it rather chilling in terms of limiting free speech.’
Yesterday it emerged Dcm, which controls 80 per cent of UK cinema advertising and is jointly-owned by Odeon and cineworld, was so eager to host the advert in July that an agent offered the church a 55 per cent discount. But on august 3, he claimed the cinemas would refuse to show the clip, saying ‘our hands are tied by these guys’.
executives later said Dcm had turned the advert down because its policy prevented it airing trailers ‘connected to personal beliefs’.
Finance director Paul maloney emailed the church in september claiming Dcm decided not to show any political or religious adverts following complaints during last year’s independence referendum, when it allowed both Yes and no campaign videos.
in an email on september 17, he said there was ‘no formal policy’ on religion. But yesterday Dcm claimed its decision was based on its ‘policy of not accepting political or religious advertising content for use in cinemas’ – pointing to a document on its website as evidence.
analysis by the mail reveals this document’s creation date was last Friday. Dcm did not respond last night to questions about when the policy had been written.
Bishop of chelmsford stephen cottrell told the mail: ‘it is a kneejerk reaction to anxiety that somehow muslims or others are going to be offended by it – and that couldn’t be further from the truth.’
ibrahim mogra, of the muslim council of Britain, said: ‘i am flabbergasted that anyone would find this prayer offensive to anybody, including people of no particular religious belief. You are talking about a beautiful prayer that is asking God to bless us.’
Professor Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist who is an outspoken critic of organised religion, told the Guardian: ‘if anybody is offended by something so trivial as a prayer, they deserve to be offended.’
a Dcm spokesman said some adverts could cause offence and it treated ‘all political or religious beliefs equally’.