Image via BBC/YouTube

UK anti-gay hate group, the Christian Institute, has added its voice to the many who have blasted the BBC for showing a gay wedding on its religious programme Songs of Praise.

The CI, in reporting that the BBC had received 1,238 complaints over the inclusion of the wedding between Jamie Wallace and Ian McDowall at Rutherglen United Reformed Church near Glasgow, said that “viewers strongly objected” but that the BBC defended the programme, saying almost 400 people had written letters of support – “less than a third of those who complained.”

During the programme, presenter Kate Bottley described the United Reformed Church’s decision to redefine marriage as “momentous”.

The couple were able to speak without challenge, with Mr Wallace justifying his stance by saying:

Jesus preaches about love and inclusion, kindness, compassion.

The Christian Institute’s Deputy Director for Communications Ciarán Kelly said:

That’s a huge number of complaints. Whether the BBC have enough humility to take them on board remains to be seen.

When the decision was taken to make this episode, producers must have known that the Christian faith teaches that marriage is between one man and one woman.

With just ten minutes’ research they would have discovered that 99.5 per cent of places of worship in England and Wales don’t conduct same-sex weddings.

The programme only featured three stories, and yet the BBC still chose one of them to promote same-sex marriage.

Image via the Christian Institute/YouTube

His words were parroted by Simon Calvert, above, Deputy Director of the CI, who added in this video that the BBC had “misused” its programme by promoting “LGBT marriage and politics” and that that it would have been “deeply offensive” to a lot pf people.

• This item was cross-posted from the Freethinker.