Proclaiming Christianity could be seen as a hate crime in the United Kingdom.
However, the British government is refusing to say whether it is or not.
The question arose when Lord Pearson of Rannoch raised a question on the issue in the House of Lords.
In response, he says the government failed to state clearly whether or not Christians can be prosecuted for stating their beliefs.
“I said to the government ‘Will they confirm unequivocally that a Christian who says that Jesus is the only son of the one true God cannot be arrested for hate crime or any other offence, however much it may offend a Muslim or anyone of any other religion?’”
In response to the question, government whip Baroness Vere of Norbiton said: “My Lords, I am not going to comment on that last question from the noble Lord.”
Vere says the legal definition of “hate crime” has been the same for the past 10 years.
Pearson says Vere’s refusal to comment was “pretty unique” and “makes one very worried”.
The Crown Prosecution Service defines racial and religious hate crime as “particularly hurtful to victims as they are being targeted solely because of their personal identity, their actual or perceived racial or ethnic origin, belief or faith.”
In Pearson’s view this is “stupid” and he called for the law to be clarified.
“Certainly the stricter Muslims do feel offended by Christianity and our belief in Jesus being the only Son of the one true God.”
Pearson also says there is a double standard in how hate crime laws are applied to Christianity and Islam.
“You can say what you like about the Virgin Birth, the miracles and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, but as soon as you say ‘come on, is Islam really the religion of peace that it claims to be?’, all hell breaks loose.”
Reports say the Crown Prosecution Service has documented 15,442 hate crime prosecutions in 2015 and 2016.
Those charged include several clerics and street preachers for sharing their views on homosexuality and Islam.
Last year, two senior Spanish clerics were accused by feminists and gay rights groups of committing hate crime after they delivered homilies that criticized gender theory.
Charges against Cardinal Antonio Cañizares and Archbishop Francisco Javier Martinez were immediately dropped after prosecutors found insufficient evidence that they broke the law.
In September a street preacher was convicted of using “threatening and discriminatory language” after he was accused by Muslims of hate speech while he was preaching.
He appealed the conviction arguing English law provides the preacher with the freedom to share the Gospel and that this has been successfully upheld for many years.
The Crown Court judge agreed and overturned the lower court ruling earlier this month.
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