Christians In England Fear A Change To The Law Could See Them Imprisoned For Preaching Christ
Christians in England are watching the passage through parliament of new crime legislation with concern.
The Policing and Crime Bill seeks to increase the penalty for a "racially or religious aggravated offence" from seven years to 14 years.
Some Christians fear they may be unfairly penalized if the Bill is pushed through, particularly as what constitutes a "racially or religiously aggravated offence" is not clearly defined.
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During a debate on the legislation in the House of Lords this week, Lord Pearson raised the question of whether it could be considered an offence under the Bill if a Christian preached the supreme divinity of Christ over Muhammad.
"Would various assembled Muslims be free to regard that as a religiously aggravated offence under this section [of the Bill]?" he asked.
Responding for the British Government, Baroness Williams replied: "It is a matter for the court and the Crown Prosecution Service to determine the points that he makes."
Campaign group Christian Concern warned that as the legislation currently stands, Christians in England could face years in prison if they preach the divinity of Christ.
Chief Executive of Christian Concern Andrea Williams said it was "extremely concerning" that the government was not prepared to defend the free speech of Christians to the extent that they could face prison.
"Free speech is meaningless if it does not include the right to offend. It is shocking that the government believes that a Christian could face prison for proclaiming the supreme divinity of Christ," she said.
Christian Concern has been involved in several cases where street preachers were arrested after complaints from members of the public.
However, a recent report from the Evangelical Alliance and the Lawyers Christian Fellowship (LCF) sought to reassure Christians in the UK that they still enjoy a lot of freedom to share their faith publically.
Speaking to Christian Today, Mark Jones, chair of the LCF and co-author of the Speaking Up report, suggested Christians can run into trouble with the law if "some aspect of their conduct was not appropriate".
