Clashes in Brazil over controversial play about transgender Jesus

In “The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven” Jesus is reimagined as a transgender woman who tells Biblical stories of tolerance.

However, according to the Daily Mail, conservatives have called it offensive and have appealed to the courts for it to be banned.

One judge did grant an injunction, calling the play “disrespectful,” ”aggressive” and “in bad taste.” However, that decision was overturned on appeal and two other judges have rejected petitions for injunctions.

Despite the controversy the actress who performs the one-woman show, Renata Carvalho, was seemingly unrepentant, stating: “In Brazil, we have a very ugly habit of sweeping everything under the carpet.

“This just sheds light on what people think. I think it’s excellent that the masks are falling.”

The play has been performed more than 60 times during a tour of Brazil.

Christians in different countries have also protested the play, including the version performed by Jo Clifford in the UK.

According to the Christian Post, in 2015, Clifford (pictured) said: “The play imagines a transgender Jesus coming back to the world today,”

“She pitches a sermon and tells a few very familiar Gospel stories.

“She has a communion, shares bread and wine with the audience, which is really a gesture of solidarity in the face of death, and she gives a blessing.”

The production attracted close to 300 protesters when it was staged in 2009 in Glasgow, Scotland.

Demonstrators sang hymns and carried placards with…