By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
RUSHMOOR, ENGLAND (Worthy News) – A Labour Party-run council in England wants to ban Christian street preachers with “an injunction,” or judicial order, that could result in lengthy prison sentences for violators.
The Rushmoor borough council in Hampshire county sought an injunction banning Christians from preaching, praying, and handing out leaflets in the centers of the towns of Farnborough and Aldershot.
The local authority claimed preachers were “offensive” and caused “alarm and distress” to passers-by.
It has prompted claims that the council is attempting to “criminalize” Christians because the maximum sentence for breaching an injunction is two years imprisonment.
Sally McGuinness, one of the preachers, said: “If this is not challenged and stopped in its tracks now, it will spread and will be terrible for Christian freedoms and freedom in general in this country.”
However, “I couldn’t believe it when I read it; it is unashamedly stopping the Gospel from being shared and treating us like unwanted criminals,” the preacher added.
PUBLIC COMPLAINTS
The council applied for the injunction in February, citing “disruption and distress being caused to the public and local businesses” by preachers over a “prolonged period.”
It also referred to complaints received by the public about the use of portable public address systems such as microphones and loudspeakers, stating that the preaching made them feel “angry and upset.”
It was not clear whether similar measures would be taken against street artists.
Under the terms of the drafted injunction, Christians would have been banned from praying for anyone “without their prior permission,” offering leaflets or Bibles by hand, and laying hands on anyone in prayer even if they consented.
Other proposed prohibitions included approaching people to discuss Christianity and the preaching of any sermons that were “hostile towards anyone with the protected characteristic of the age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation.”
The preachers maintain that being seen as “hostile” is unavoidable when attempting to convince non-believers of the truth of the Christian faith.
‘MAKING MISTAKE’
One of the preachers said: “When I first read the injunction, I thought: ‘They must have made a mistake.’
“I felt complete unbelief that it was saying that you can’t have religious discussions, you can’t pray or sing, and people have to come to you, you can’t go to them and share the gospel, which Christians have done freely in this country for centuries.
The preacher said, “As a Christian, I am commanded to share the good news and am therefore compelled to share the gospel.”
The preacher added: The Gospel is not my idea; I am being obedient to God.”
The council has now withdrawn the initial terms of the injunction it applied for and says it will “rewrite it” while seeking “greater consultation” with local Christians.
However, with an injunction still on the table, Christians view it as part of growing restrictions on devoted believers to express their faith publicly, following similar measures near abortion clinics.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
The United States and Hungary have concluded 17 agreements covering nuclear energy, oil, and natural gas cooperation as Budapest faces pressure to reduce its reliance on cheap Russian energy.
Christian rights campaigners have welcomed Friday’s landmark decision by Pakistan’s Punjab province to criminalize child marriage by setting 18 as the minimum legal age for marriage. However, the killing of a Pakistani Christian shopkeeper in the same province cast a shadow over the celebrations.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced Sunday that countries participating in his Gaza “Board of Peace” have pledged more than $5 billion toward humanitarian relief and reconstruction efforts in the Gaza Strip, along with committing thousands of personnel to support new security arrangements in the enclave.
An additional 27 members of Venezuelan transnational criminal organizations, Tren de Aragua and its splinter faction, anti-Tren, have been indicted in New York in an ongoing prosecution of groups the Trump administration has designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
Two pastors in eastern Uganda who were reportedly attacked by a group of Muslim extremists have been discharged from a hospital and are continuing to recover at home, Worthy News learned Sunday.
Western leaders sought to project unity at the 2026 Munich Security Conference despite tensions over U.S. interest in acquiring Greenland, differences on ending the war in Ukraine, and questions surrounding the future of transatlantic cooperation.
The Pentagon is deploying the Navy’s largest and most advanced aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, to the Middle East as the United States intensifies preparations for potential military action against Iran.