A retired pastor in Northern Ireland has been convicted for preaching near an abortion facility after delivering a sermon that included the reading of John 3:16, a case many Christians are warning marks another alarming erosion of religious liberty across the Western world.
Pastor Clive Johnston, 78, was found guilty Thursday at Coleraine Magistrates Court of violating an abortion clinic “safe access zone” law after holding an open-air Sunday service near Causeway Hospital in July 2024, according to reporting from Christianity Today.
Johnston, the former president of the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland, now faces a criminal record and potentially thousands of pounds in fines under the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act.
Commenting after the verdict, Johnston called the ruling “a dark day for Christian freedom.”
“We held a small, open air Sunday service near a hospital. We made no reference whatsoever to the issue of abortion,” Johnston said. “And yet the buffer zones law is so broad that holding a Sunday service has been found to be a criminal offence.”
The pastor stressed that no harassment or intimidation occurred during the gathering.
“If someone is out there causing trouble, stirring up violence, harassing or verbally attacking people, then, absolutely, go ahead and prosecute them,” he said. “But I wasn’t doing any of those things as the police video shows and as everyone involved in this case accepts.”
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The message at the center of the prosecution included the reading of John 3:16, one of the most recognized verses in not just Christianity, but the world: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
The Christian Institute, which supported Johnston’s legal defense, condemned the conviction as a dangerous attack on freedom of speech and religion.
Simon Calvert, deputy director of the organization, said before the hearing that “John 3:16 is a wonderful, famous verse and everyone knows it says nothing about abortion.”
He accused authorities of “overstepping the mark” by treating gospel preaching as political protest.
“Prosecuting Pastor Johnston for preaching ‘God so loved the world’ near a hospital on a quiet Sunday is a shocking new attempt to restrict freedom of religion and freedom of speech,” Calvert said.
The case is already drawing international concern among Christians who see it as another sign of a rapidly shifting culture increasingly hostile toward biblical Christianity and public expressions of faith. For many believers watching events unfold across Europe and the West, the conviction stands as another reminder of Scripture’s warnings that societies rejecting God would eventually call good evil and evil good.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a journalism background from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and at the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
