Christian arts festival is ‘too gay’
A Christian arts and music festival has been attacked for being too gay by a conservative Anglican pressure group.
Greenbelt Festival, to be held in late August at Cheltenham Racecourse, has been described as the “gayification of the church” by the Anglican Mainstream, an evangelical group.
It will feature gay groups OuterSpace and Journey, while bands include Athlete and Royksopp.
In an article posted on its website, the group states: “This is rather worrying: it is called the gayification of the church. Almost more insidious is that it exists, cheek by jowl, with other worthwhile, really important and solidly orthodox aspects.”
Describing Gene Robinson, the Bishop of News Hampshire who will speak at the festival, as a “gay bishop poster boy”, the article adds that the festival is “deeply discriminatory”.
“Finally, perhaps most galling is the deeply discriminatory nature of the programme, which presents itself as the antithesis of discrimination,” the article continues.
“There is no reason why Greenbelt should only push one ideological agenda and only grind one axe, unless it is wanting to slant the argument and deprive its audience of expert opinion on the other side.”
Anglican Mainstream were the group behind the ‘gay cure’ conference in London in April, which provoked outrage from the gay community. It featured talks from practictioners such as Joseph Nicolosi, who claims gays can be treated to reduce their attraction to the same sex. More than 100 people protested outside the event.
