British Christmas Card Producer under fire for deeply offensive products

Case information
Incident date
Country
United Kingdom
Place
Pontefract
Categories
  • Social Hostility / Intolerance
Attack Against
  • Faith
Societal Sphere
  • Arts
Hate Crime & Violent Incidents
  • Other (text field)
Religious Freedom / Discrimination
  • Other (text field)
  • Negative Stereotyping
Place of Incident
  • Other (text field)
Bias Indicators
  • Victim/Witness Perception
Reported to Police
  • No
Response of Local Authorities
  • Unknown

A line of Christmas cards produced by British card company 'Love Layla' caused controversy for including messages mocking some of the deeply held beliefs of the Christian faith. The cards included taglines which call into question the Virgin Mary's miraculous conception, and which refer to Jesus as "a bloke that wore socks with sandals." Speaking to the Daily Mirror, James Mildred, for Christian Action Research and Education (CARE) said, "A lot of Christians will be deeply offended by this sort of thing...It highlights a fundamental hypocrisy that Christianity is seen as fair game to mock, disparage and insult."