Strong cases for and against Sunday cinemas – archive, 18 April 1932
The Bishop of Burnley (the Right Rev. Edgar Priestley Swain) preached in Burnley Parish Church last night on the question of Sunday opening of cinemas. The opening of certain cinemas on Sundays during the past three weeks to raise money in aid of the Mayor’s project to clear Victoria Hospital of debt has created considerable controversy in the town.
From the archive, 29 December 1978: New Year's Eve revellers warned to be on their Sunday best behaviour
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The Bishop said there was a strong case for the Sunday opening of cinemas in many places. There was also, in his judgement, a very strong case against it, and they ought to realise the strength of both cases and sift the evidence and ponder over it to find out what was the right and best thing to do.

“Now,” he continued, “there is a time of respite, and during that respite we must consider the matter very carefully. First we must remember the responsibility to our own people and to our own Church, and we must remember those who greatly treasure the traditions of the English Sunday.”
“We must remember our responsibility to those outside the Church to whom our Christian message and appeal has been made in vain. They do not want to join with us in prayer and worship, but have to spend their Sunday somehow. We have to see that somehow or other we help them to spend their respite from work in as little temptation as possible and with as much opportunity for recreation as possible.”
From the archive, 13 January 1863: Bishops rail against Sunday excursions
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“Is it altogether wise that the only places to be open on Sunday during the winter nights should be clubs and public-houses? We must remember that we have made many mistakes in the past. Christian people in the past have been too much inclined to die at the last ditch in quite hopeless struggles against quite innocent things. There was a time when Christians fought to their uttermost to prevent people from going to the theatre, and they struggled to prevent people from engaging in dancing, and large numbers of Christians said that to play cards was to head straight for perdition. How many are left now? Do not let us do it again”.
“This attitude has done the Church infinite harm. If it is wrong to go to the cinemas on Sunday let us say so with courage, but let us say why it is wrong, and let us be quite sure we can define it. Let us be quite sure that our opinion, either one way or the other, is not based on prejudice.”
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