It was reported in mid-June that the Ministry of Justice has written to The Christian Institute and confirmed that the new Serious Crime Bill will not criminalise religious parents who teach their children biblical principles.
Conservative MP Damian Green told the Institute that the Bill, which partly aims to deal with child neglect, would only target ‘cruelty likely to cause physical or psychological suffering or injury’ to children.
Prior to the Bill being announced in the Queen’s Speech, there was widespread concern that the Government could introduce a so-called ‘Cinderella law’ that would crimi-nalise emotional neglect. Critics, including The Times columnist Libby Purves, argued that the anticipated law could have also criminalised religious parents who do not agree with evolutionary science.
