Seth Udinski, FISM News
Earlier this year, FISM News reported on a legal victory won by Pastor Franklin Graham, head of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), in England. This past week, sources revealed that Rev. Graham’s ministry has won another lawsuit in defense of religious freedom, this time in Scotland.
In 2019, the Scotland-based Robertson Trust prohibited Graham’s ministry from using a local conference center. The reason was very similar to the lawsuit Graham won in England, and has much to do with a popular argument from the secular community against Christians – the group claimed Graham’s criticism of homosexuality as a sin was “hate speech,” thus barring him from using the facility.
The trust issued an apology several days ago, as well as a $26,500 settlement to both the BGEA and the Stirling Free Church, the congregation woking in conjunction with Graham and his team. Robertson Trust said after the settlement,
The Trust’s long standing funding policy (1) legitimately states that we do not fund or support the promotion of any particular religious or political beliefs. We recognize that in applying our funding policy to the hire of our facilities, which are available at substantially subsidized rates to charities and community groups, we inadvertently breached the Equality Act 2010.
Pastor Iain Macaskill of the Stirling Free Church celebrated the ruling, saying,
Christians have the same legal rights as everyone else and the outcome of this case affirms that.
Pastor Graham spoke highly of the outcome as well, saying,
The positive resolution of cases in Scotland, England and Wales sends a clear message—religious freedom isn’t dead.