Major theater chains in Great Britain are refusing to show a Church of England advertisement promoting the Lord's Prayer, the
Daily Mail reports.
The church said no policy barring religious advertising existed when it began trying to put the one-minute ad on screens before movies, and it was approved by the British Board of Film Classification and the Cinema Advertising Authority.
The Digital Cinema Media agency, which runs advertising for Odeon, Cineworld, and Vue theaters, has refused to show it, however, saying it could cause offense.
The ad shows various people, including bodybuilders and children, reciting the New Testament prayer of Jesus.
The church asked for a copy of the policy disallowing the ad, but was told there wasn't a formal document – just an agreement between DCM's members.
A policy has since been added to DCM's website, reading, "To be approved, an advertisement must ... not in the reasonable opinion of DCM constitute political or religious advertising."
The policy further states, "Religious advertising means: advertising which wholly or partially advertises any religion, faith or equivalent systems of belief (including any absence of belief) or any part of any religion, faith or such equivalent systems of belief."
"I find it extraordinary that cinemas rule that it is inappropriate for an advert on prayer to be shown in the week before Christmas when we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ," the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who also appears in the ad, told The Mail.
"Billions of people across the world pray this prayer on a daily basis. I think they would be astonished and deeply saddened by this decision, especially in the light of the terrorist attack in Paris where many people have found comfort and solace in prayer," he said. "This advert is about as 'offensive' as a carol service on Christmas Day."
The church had planned to show the ad before the new Star Wars movie, "The Force Awakens," in December.
Church legal adviser Stephen Slack said banning the ad would "give rise to the possibility of legal proceedings."
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