The three minute film has been produced by the Bible Society. It opens with black and white archive footage from the 1914-18 war. Later in the advert, a range of people recite verses from the Book of Revelation.

Rachel Rounds from the Bible Society is disappointed the advert will not be seen in cinemas: “We wanted to say that the Bible did give hope and it still gives hope today.”

She says the Bible was central to British forces. “When they were given their boots and their helmets, a Bible was given to them as part of their kit.”

“We know for a fact that after battles and particularly the first day of the Somme, men were found dead with the Bible in their hands. It was literally the last thing they looked at before they died.”

The cinema chain says it has a policy never to accept advertising from religious groups. The ban also applies to political bodies.

Responding to the decision by Empire Cinemas Chief Executive of Humanists UK Andrew Copson said:

“It seems a bit silly for the Bible Society to say that their religious short film isn’t “religious” because it’s about Christianity. Cinema chains in the UK have blanket policies against religious and political advertising for good reason: people go to the cinema to be entertained, not preached to. These policies are being enforced fairly and judiciously by the cinema chains involved, and they apply to humanist adverts…

After contributing to a government consultation on what to change in Relationships and Sex Eduation (RSE) in schools, the Church say: “We have welcomed much of what has been proposed, such as the inclusion of health education and the need to show respect for LGBTI+ people and to teach about sexual orientation in the secondary phase.”

However, Nigel Genders, Chief Education Officer at C of E added that there is a danger of faith-held opinions being packaged into other areas of the curriculum:

“We believe that there is a risk here of ghettoising faith perspectives on relationships, wrongly suggesting that they are only relevant to pupils attending schools of a religious character.”

“This, we believe, serves to problematise religion, rather than giving children and young people the skills and knowledge they need for life in pluralistic communities with diverse belief, faith, religion and culture.”

He explained that the concern lies within non-religious schools only being required to teach religious perspectives on relationships within Religious Education (RE) rather than giving them an equal voice in RSE.

The C of E say this separation of faith and relationship values does not concur with the statement in the Department of Education’s draft consultation that reads: “There should be an equal opportunity to explore the features of stable and healthy same sex…

There’s been widespread protests in Pakistan following the release of Christian mother Asia Bibi. She was accused of blasphemy but released on appeal after almost a decade in prison.

Speaking about the situation in her own country, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said: “Anyone who pronounces offensive comments against it [Islam], or against the Prophet Muhammad, will be prosecuted according to the law.”

She did however speak out against Islamic extremists.

“There is no place for Islamic militancy, terrorism and corruption,” she said. “Bangladesh wants to show that Islam is a religion of peace and wants to be a peaceful, prosperous and developed country.”

Hasina was speaking at a gathering of Islamic schools in Dhaka.

While her comments have caused concern among the Christian community, religious freedom charity Open Doors says believers are more concerned with her alternative.

Next month, the country hold elections with a cross-party coalition looking to unseat the PM, who’s been in power since 2009.

The coalition includes radical Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami.

Speaking on Premier’s News Hour, Tamsin Taylor from the charity, said: “The prime minister has always stressed that she is running a secular country. What the Christians are worried about is the inclusion of the radical Islamists in this bid to unseat her.”

Bangladesh is number 41 on the Open Doors World Watch…

Ministers report the funding will go toward ensuring taxpayer-funded aid projects also promote religious diversity.

They say a key focus of the Coalition for Religious Equality and Inclusive Development programme will be teaching children to respect people who follow other faiths.

The Christian politician Jim Shannon – chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Freedom of Religion and Belief – told Premier he was “very pleased” by the announcement.

The DUP MP added that religious liberty should go hand-in-hand with foreign aid: “We should be tying in the issue of freedom of religious belief not necessarily [as] a condition [of aid] but part of our influence that we can use.

“It’s getting those words into action. I think all ministers are doing that.”

UK aid worth hundreds of millions of pounds is received every year by countries including Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan – nations which have questionable records when it comes to religious freedoms.

UK aid provides funding for food in Juba in Sudan

The Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon (pictured) said: “This money will go a long way in bolstering the work of civil society and NGOs to promote respect, and the value of religious diversity and tolerance.

“It will sit alongside the excellent work British…

In a message to a water management conference in Rome on Thursday, Francis lamented that war, corruption and financial interests often get in the way of providing universal access to clean water for all.

He said recognition of access to clean water as a basic human right is “incompatible” with the concept of water as a merchandise to be bought and sold.

The United Nations first recognised the legal right to safe drinking water in 2010.

The UN says poverty, pollution and climate change are depleting water resources globally, with some 884 million people without access to improved sources of drinking water.

The one-day meeting was held at the Pontifical Urbaniana University.

It was organised by the Dicastery for Promoting Intergral Human Development.

The embassy staff from the Holy See of France, Italy, Monaco and the United States were also involved.

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