The UK’s three leading cinema chains – the Odeon, Cineworld and Vue – have refused to screen a 60-second advert by the Church of England that features the Lord’s Prayer, over fears that some people could be offended by it, The Guardian reported. The commercial was due to be shown before the screening of Star Wars: the Force Awakens, scheduled to release on 18 December.
Digital Cinema Media, which handles most cinema advertising in the UK, told the church it has a policy “not to run advertising connected to personal beliefs, specifically those related to politics or religion. Our members have found that showing such advertisements carries the risk of upsetting, or offending, audiences.”
The decision wasn’t well received by the church, which said it is bewildered by the refusal of the cinemas. The church said that the decision is just “plain silly” and is rather “chilling” in terms of limiting free speech.
Arun Arora, director of communications for the Church of England, said, “The prospect of a multigenerational 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.”
Arora urged people to visit the site to see the film themselves and decide whether they are upset or offended by it.
The advert is freely available on the internet. The Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) write and maintain the UK Advertising Codes, which are administered by the Advertising Standards Authority. The latter has so far received no complaints about the Lord's Prayer commercial and the issue remains solely between the Church of England and the cinemas, BBC reported.
