180 degrees the opposite of Islam.
Christians 'not offended' by Jesus jokes – poll
John Bingham ("The Telegraph," October 10, 2012)
Meanwhile three quarters of believers agree that freedom of
speech should not be restricted even if it offends people
with deeply-held religious convictions.
The finding emerged from a survey of attitudes among more
than 2,000 committed Christians conducted in the wake of the
international furore over the film mocking the Prophet
Mohammed.
It is the first in a series of studies to gauge the opinion
in the pews by Christian Research, a polling and research
group, using an online panel of thousands of churchgoers.
While those polled overwhelmingly expressed sympathy for
Muslims who were offended by the film they were equally
strong in their view that curbs on freedom of _expression_
should only be a last resort.
More than eight out of 10 (84 per cent) said they would
“defend” followers of other faiths such as Islam from
antireligious sentiment even if they profoundly disagreed
with their beliefs.
A similar proportion said that freedom of _expression_ must
accommodate all views, except for extreme opinions likely to
incite hatred.
Although opinion was split on whether Britain should ever
reinstate blasphemy laws, the largest group opposed the
idea.
But when asked about their own faith, six out of 10 agreed
it was possible to “demean, mock or insult” God without
offending Christians.
Meanwhile almost seven out of 10 said they welcomed “strong
anti-Christian opinion” as providing an opportunity to
“exchange ideas”.
It comes after a series of cases in which Christians in
Britain were said to be feel under attack from “militant
secularism”.
“Far from being on the defensive, it appears that most
Christians welcome the opportunity to wrestle over key
issues and are prepared to stand alongside believers of
other faiths who are less familiar with being lampooned or
more sensitive to criticism,” said Rob Powys-Smith of
Christian Research, who is presenting the findings today at
the Christian Resources Exhibition North, a trade fair for
all things clerical in Manchester.
“In fact, respondents showed they welcome thought-provoking
opposition that challenge their beliefs.”
