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318:. Reverend Jean Darnall led the rally. The main speaker in the park was Hollywood street evangelist Arthur Blessitt, famous for having travelled all over the globe carrying a 12-foot (3.7 m) wooden cross. He said it was only by having "a personal relationship with Jesus" that the desire for "immoral entertainment and illicit behaviour" would be eliminated, and invited the crowd to kneel in Hyde Park and make a personal acceptance of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.
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once these were overthrown a safe and stable society could not long survive. They challenged the nation to recover "the pure idealism of Christ, the Light of the world, who taught that real love always wants what is best for others and defends the weak against exploitation by the corrupt". The speakers were of mixed ages and backgrounds. Some of the crowd heckled, but most cheered enthusiastically. Two-thirds of those present were said to be aged under twenty-five.
258:" in the media and the arts, and to offer the teaching of Christ as the key to recovering moral stability in the nation. Some supporters naturally emphasized the first, and others the second. Plans were made for major public events, including the lighting of beacons on hilltops throughout the United Kingdom, and culminating in a massed march to a public rally in Trafalgar Square and an open-air concert of Christian music in Hyde Park.
243:), Rev. Jean Darnall (Pentecostal evangelist), Nigel Goodwin (a professional Christian actor) and Steve Stevens (a missionary aviator). Additional input was received from a larger Council of Reference which included well-known politicians, lawyers, doctors, trades unionists, bishops, ministers, and other public figures such as Dora Bryan and
358:" a significant expression of twentieth-century evangelical co-operation in the UK. Proponents claim that many Christians were persuaded to shun violent and sexually explicit films, magazines and television programmes, and to prefer newspapers lacking salacious content. For a decade or more, evangelicals generally held to this position.
374:(CARE), changing its name in 1983. The high-profile confrontational style of the original Festival gave way to a more discreet range of initiatives assisting individuals who have suffered the consequences of the perceived moral and social breakdown in British society, and encouraging a measure of political engagement on some issues.
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In the nation as a whole, however, the impact of the
Festival was much less evident than supporters had hoped, and it is thought that the openly evangelical positions espoused by the Festival's leaders had alienated a number of people who would otherwise have supported its aims. A much greater range
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A number of statements and proclamations were read out and received with applause by the crowd. Some called for a halt to the commercial exploitation of sex and violence. They warned that the "positive values" of love and respect for the individual and the family were under serious threat, and that
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The administrative task of enlisting the support of
Christian churches and denominations throughout the UK was a colossal one, as indeed was the necessity for public relations with the press and the general public. The committee and many local volunteers were occupied with this throughout the first
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Within the movement itself there had always been diverse emphases and agendas. Those involved had frequently asked whether the
Festival of Light should have an overtly Christian identity, or alternatively seek a wider constituency embracing all who would oppose "moral pollution". In the event it
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On 25 September, approximately 45,000 of the 100,000 predicted people assembled in
Trafalgar Square for the NFOL rally. A platform and amplification equipment had been set up, and more than a dozen speakers took the microphone, among them Malcolm Muggeridge, Bill Davidson of the
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by law, or to seek a voluntary agreement on standards with the professional regulating bodies in the broadcasting and publishing industries, or simply to persuade individuals and families that they would benefit from opting out of a culture they could not control.
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periodicals. Vast quantities of mail continued to pour into the organisers' office, but once they had recovered from the effort entailed in the public events, there seemed a large measure of uncertainty about the next stage, if any.
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At the conclusion of the speeches, the crowd began to wind through the streets to Hyde Park, singing
Christian songs as they went. In Hyde Park they joined those unable to get into Trafalgar Square. The Hyde Park rally started at
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flare was lit by Cliff
Richard. Local authorities were generally co-operative, and individual opposition muted. There were probably about 300 such beacons, and one estimate claimed that 100,000 people took part in local events.
143:, although it did not persist as a high-profile campaign in the UK, and the subsequent growth in the availability of sexually explicit and violent material would suggest that it had little effect on the media or on consumers.
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of explicit material became available in the years which followed. Commercial, political and artistic pressures worked against any attempt at a stricter censorship, either by law or by voluntary agreement.
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Peter Hill imagined tens of thousands of young people marching on London to take a stand for
Christian moral principles. The idea took root when he heard of 10,000 men engaged in a March of Witness through
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According to the NFOL's official history as written by John Capon, the organisation's genesis was in
November 1970, when a young couple, Peter and Janet Hill, returned to England after four years as
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285:" in the city. A "nationwide day of prayer" was observed on 19 September. Then on the night of 23 September bonfires and torches were lit on hilltops throughout Britain. In Sheffield a
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A working committee was established by Hill with
Colonel Orde Dobbie (a Social Services administrator), Eddie Stride (a former shop steward and trade unionist, later the Rector of
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when they discovered that sexually explicit content was more prevalent in the mass media, in mid-July 1971 the NFOL was founded to oppose "pornography and moral pollution".
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Soon, Hill was in contact with a wide network of people, who shared his concern, and offered their encouragement. Among these were
Malcolm Muggeridge, Mary Whitehouse,
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received support from many who had no initial Christian commitment, and some who were drawn to Christianity through the experience.
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The Festival stimulated some inter-denominational contact among evangelical Christians, and is considered to be, along with the
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Whipple, Amy C. (September 2010). "Speaking for Whom? The 1971 Festival of Light and the Search for the 'Silent Majority'".
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p.m., where a number of Christian music groups proclaimed the same message. Among the performers were Cliff Richard,
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for the explicit depiction of sexual and violent themes. Its culmination was a pair of mass rallies in
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After 1971 the NFL committee continued to meet and gradually evolved into the Christian organisation
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from the acting profession. The name "Festival of Light" was suggested by Malcolm Muggeridge, and
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History+ for Edexcel A Level: Democracies in change: Britain and the USA in the twentieth century
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and Peter and Janet Hill, the movement was opposed to what they saw as the growing trends in the
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for the explicit depiction of sexual and violent themes and for the restoration of conservative
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In the days that followed, newspaper reports were mixed. Perhaps the warmest support came from
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There was also uncertainty whether the intention of the organisers was to demand stricter
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It encouraged a number of other campaigns on similar themes, including the continuing
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No Bath But Plenty of Bubbles: An Oral History of the Gay Liberation Front, 1970–1973
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Shepley, Nick; Sanders, Vivienne; Clements, Peter; Bunce, Robin (25 September 2015).
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the cathedral was filled to capacity, largely in reaction to the opening of a "
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In September 2022, The Nationwide Festival of Light was the subject of a
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The movement was opposed to what they saw as the growing trends in the
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calling for Christian moral standards to be restored to the nation.
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Around the country more than seventy regional rallies followed. In
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And There Was Light: The Story of the Nationwide Festival of Light
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half of 1971. Then on 9 September, an initial rally was held in
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The movement had two expressed aims: to protest against "
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sent "every good wish for the success of the Festival".
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missionaries in India. The Hills experienced a sense of
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Ezard, John (16 March 1972). "Then there was light".
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Christian organisations based in the United Kingdom
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social changes in English society by the late 1960s
216:and Cliff Richard. Grassroots support came from
197:were key supporters of the NFOL from its onset.
611:Political advocacy groups in the United Kingdom
621:Christianity and society in the United Kingdom
641:History of Christianity in the United Kingdom
239:), Gordon Landreth (general secretary of the
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76:Learn how and when to remove this message
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39:This article includes a list of general
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372:Christian Action Research and Education
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165:Founded by the journalist and author
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45:it lacks sufficient corresponding
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616:Christian political organizations
387:Witness History radio documentary
189:in the UK. The British pop star
105:concerned about the rise of the
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580:Willetts, Paul (4 April 2013).
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565:10.1080/13619462.2010.497254
553:Contemporary British History
272:invaded this meeting in drag
92:Nationwide Festival of Light
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60:more precise citations.
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232:church denominations.
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481:Capon, John (1972).
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241:Evangelical Alliance
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536:. Cassell.
230:Pentecostal
153:evangelical
58:introducing
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454:Ezard 1972
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340:censorship
195:Dora Bryan
183:mass media
118:mass media
103:Christians
96:grassroots
66:March 2011
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573:144839277
525:. London.
287:Calor gas
218:Anglicans
212:, Bishop
203:Blackburn
141:Australia
126:Hyde Park
322:Response
222:Baptists
279:Bristol
156:Baptist
147:History
100:British
54:improve
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