More than 62,000 engaged with by CI

The Christian Institute (CI) has released its Annual Report, which revealed that in 2023 it engaged with over 62,000 supporters, including more than 5,000 churches.

The legal organisation, which seeks to defend the rights of Christians, also recorded more than 5.4 million website visits, 106 print and broadcast media requests, and led more than 450 presentations which were attended by over 21,000 people during that year.

The publication detailed how the CI was once again at the forefront of the Christian voice in the legal sector throughout 2023. It worked to protect religious liberty, primarily through opposition to the proposed ban on Conversion Therapy and Hate Crime legislation, while it also worked to protect the sanctity of life through its opposition to proposed assisted suicide legislation and further liberalisation of abortion legislation.

The CI also worked to add protection of religious freedom of expression into the Online Safety Act 2023 and continued to campaign against gender ideology, and sex education in schools which promotes such ideology alongside LGBT+ practices.

Citing John 1:14, Ciaran Kelly, who was appointed as the new CI director following the death of the Institute’s founder and director Colin Hart in March, emphasised the importance of grace and truth in the CI’s dealings.

He said in the publication: ‘Attempts to set grace and truth against one another are readily apparent in many areas of the Institute’s work. Gender ideology, sexual ethics, marriage, and the sanctity of life are highly sensitive areas and must certainly be addressed with genuine compassion.

‘Speaking the truth does not require rudeness or self-righteousness. They are also areas where the Biblical worldview stands in stark contrast to the cultural zeitgeist. We cannot water down the truth for fear of man or in the misguided belief that this is the gracious thing to do. ‘Grace’ without truth is not grace at all, it is merely empty sentimentality.’