“Our message is simple: end religious privilege, not free speech. We must not allow religious censorship to sneak in by the back door.” Pavan Dhaliwal,Humanists UKHead of Public Affairs
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Together we must do everything possible to protect freedom of speech and end the entrenchment of religious privilege – within advertising and right across society.
Do these adverts cause “serious or
widespread offence”?
This mobile phone advert features the Dogma film character, Buddy Christ, promising miraculous deals over the Easter period. We branded the ASA’s decision to ban the advert as ‘completely ridiculous’.
Italian Catholic company Antonio Federici published a series of provocative adverts which questioned the ‘attitudes of the church to social issues’. This advert was banned following just 10 complaints, and the company warned future ads must not cause offence.
In a chilling High Court ruling, Mrs Justice Lang recently said BHA’s bus advert, ‘There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life’ should not see the light of day again.
The Advertising Standards Agency clause which emphasises the need to avoid serious or widespread religious offence has been used to ban adverts like these. And who knows how many adverts with religious content have been withdrawn prior to publication following advice from the Committee for Advertising Practice (CAP), or avoided altogether for fear of being banned.
We believe the religious offence clause should be amended or removed altogether. It is wide open to interpretation, it should not be given special emphasis in the first place, and it breeds a culture of self-censorship.
The clause keeps religion out of reach where it cannot be questioned or criticised, and where it can exert ever greater control over individuals and institutions.
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Freedom to question and criticise established institutions and ideas is fundamental to a progressive society. That’s what Humanists UK does, and why your gift is so desperately needed.
“Religion through its sanctity, and law-giving through its majesty, might seek to exempt themselves from criticism, but they then awaken rightful suspicion, and cannot claim the sincere respect which reason accords only to that which has been able to sustain the test of free and open examination.”
Immanuel Kant, 1724-1804