04-06-2021
After a legal fight that lasted several years, evangelist Franklin Graham has won an important case for religious freedom in the UK.
Manchester County Court Judge Claire Evans has ruled that the 2018 Lancashire Festival of Hope with Franklin Graham was discriminated against when ads promoting the event were pulled from buses in Blackpool, England in an effort to ban him from preaching the gospel.
During September 2018, the Blackpool Borough Council and Blackpool Transport Services Limited removed bus advertisements displaying the words Time for Hope, citing that members of the community complained about Graham s association with the festival.
The transportation company said they received feedback from members of the community who were concerned over the evangelist s religious beliefs on marriage and sexuality.
(RNS) The judge said the borough council’s actions ‘discriminated on the ground of religion’ and showed ‘wholesale disregard for the right to freedom of expression.’