A United Kingdom pastor has won the right to preach again on the city streets, three years after local police warned him not to criticize other religions or deliver sermons without their approval.
The controversy began several years ago when Dia Moodley, a pastor who is based in Bristol, England, and is a father of four, met with the Avon and Somerset Police Force to discuss incidents in which he had been the subject of racial abuse. Police then began watching his street preaching to monitor the situation.
At a 2021 meeting with Moodley, police forbade him from "passing comments on any other religion or comparing them to Christianity" and from "passing comments on beliefs held by atheists or those who believe in evolution," according to his attorneys. Police also told him he was prohibited from delivering a "sermon or religious address at a time or place that has not had prior consent and approval of Avon & Somerset Constabulary."
Moodley then challenged the police's order, backed by legal representation with ADF International and the Free Speech Union. Moodley’s attorneys alleged police had violated his rights under the European Convention on Human Rights and had practiced religious discrimination.
Police agreed to settle the case.
Moodley has preached on city streets for at least five years.
“Dia Moodley’s case exposes a clear double standard in British policing when the issue concerns the expression of core beliefs; particularly Christian beliefs,” said Jeremiah Igunnubole, legal counsel for ADF UK. “Bristol authorities unabashedly requested prior review of Dia’s sermons and banned him from speaking about any other religion -- including atheism. This blatantly restricted his freedom of religion and speech in an attempt to redefine established British values in accordance with their own ideals.”
Moodley applauded the settlement.
“It isn’t for the police to decide which religions or worldviews can be free from criticism,” he said. “When I preach, I am committed to speaking about the good news of Christianity in love, grace, and truth -- but that doesn’t mean that I will never say something that others may disagree with. The nature of a free and democratic society is that we can speak publicly about our beliefs.”
Images credit: ADF
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
