Christian Voice (CV) is a fundamentalist Christian advocacy group based in the United Kingdom. Its stated objective is "to uphold Christianity as the Faith of the United Kingdom, to be a voice for Biblical values in law and public policy, and to defend and support traditional family life." It is independent of religious, denominational, or political parties.
CV is led by Stephen Green. Green is the group's spokesperson, producing scores of press releases from 2005 to 2010. According to Green, Christian Voice had in excess of 600 members in 2005.
The group has been criticised for its positions. David Peel, leader of the United Reformed Church called Christian Voice "a disgrace" and described their "claim to represent Christians" in the UK as "absurd".
Leadership
The leader, and sole staff member, of Christian Voice is Stephen Green, a former Chairman of the Conservative Family Campaign, who attends an Assemblies of God Church. In the early 1990s, Green was a prominent campaigner against homosexuality through the Conservative Family Campaign, and wrote a book called The Sexual Dead-End, which opposed gay rights.
In January 2011, Green's former wife, Caroline Green, accused him of domestic violence. The couple subsequently divorced.
Positions
Christian Voice has called for British law to be based on the Bible. It opposes abortion, homosexuality, no-fault divorce and compulsory sex education. Additionally it supports the death penalty and does not recognise the concept of marital rape. The group has also published a paper attacking Islam as untrue, and the portrayal of it as a religion of peace as false.
Homosexuality
Green has expressed support for the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill (2009) and its associated penalty of death, stating "The Bible calls for the ultimate penalty for sodomy... A Parliamentarian in Uganda is trying to protect his nation's children. The House of Commons of the United Kingdom is trying to corrupt ours."
Abortion
According to the group, abortion is the killing of human beings comparable to The Holocaust.
Laws on marital rape
The group wants to overturn the law on marital rape, stating that the promises given by a man and woman to each other during the marriage service in the Book of Common Prayer establish a binding consent to sexual intercourse.
Protests and campaigns
Homosexuality
The group has been involved in campaigns against the Gay Police Association. Christian Voice is opposed to police officers participating in gay pride marches, and in 2003 wrote to the Chief Constable of each force which it alleged allowed its officers to march in uniform at Pride events. The organisation published the replies on its website and, in the accompanying 16-page document Homosexuality and the Police, described homosexuality as "characterised by disease, degradation, death and denial" and Gay Pride as "intimidating".
On 2 September 2006, Green was arrested while handing out pamphlets urging homosexuals to "turn from their sins" at the Cardiff Mardi Gras. The police considered the leaflets hateful. The Crown Prosecution Service decided to withdraw their prosecution of Green on the grounds of insufficient evidence; the police stated that this did not "challenge the legality" of his arrest. Green's solicitor indicated he would seek damages in civil court for "abuse of police powers."
Blasphemy
Christian Voice was involved in criticism of British performances of Jerry Springer: The Opera, including a transmission of a performance by the BBC in 2005. The group stated that the production was blasphemous in its depiction of Jesus, Mary and God as guests on the Jerry Springer Show. Green said of the production,
The group maintained a presence outside the Cambridge Theatre in London where it ran. It then mounted protests outside every theatre on the 2006 run of the show, attributing the financial disaster of the tour to divine intervention rather than its own actions.
Also in 2006, it mounted parallel protests outside the St Andrews University production of Terrence McNally gay rights play Corpus Christi.
Christian Voice started a campaign for people to complain to the BBC and published the home addresses and telephone numbers of two BBC executives on their web site, Jana Bennett (Director of Television) and Roly Keating (Controller of BBC Two). Keating subsequently received death threats.