Christian Institute

Abbreviation	CI
Formation	1991
Type	Christian charity
Headquarters	Wilberforce House, 4 Park Road, Gosforth Business Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE12 8DG.
Director	Colin Hart
Website	http://www.christian.org.uk

The Christian Institute (CI) is an evangelical Christian group operating in the United Kingdom. The CI promotes a conservative Christian viewpoint, founded on a belief in Biblical inerrancy. The CI is a registered charity. The group does not report numbers of staff or volunteers with only the Director, Colin Hart, listed as a representative.

While the CI has campaigned on issues including gambling, abortion and euthanasia, it is most notable for its campaigns against homosexuality. The CI sought to retain Section 28 and a higher age of consent for homosexuals, and opposed the Civil Partnership Act, the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 and legislation allowing gay couples to adopt. It has opposed measures to prevent gay people being discriminated against in the provision of services and goods. The Civil Partnership Act 2004, the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 and the Equality Act 2010 were ultimately enacted by Parliament.

The Christian Institute's activities resulted in censure by The Charity Commission in 2001, for breaching rules limiting overt political campaigning by charities, by "publishing a 100-page report, Homosexuality and Young People (1998), which argued against reforming anti-homosexual law with no reference at all to a Christian view."

In 2004, the CI funded a full-page newspaper advertisement in The Times in support of a controversial amendment to the Civil Partnership Bill. The amendment attempted to include within the scope of the Bill siblings who had lived together for longer than 12 years. The amendment was ultimately rejected in both Houses of Parliament. In response to the advertisement, Members of Parliament questioned the CI's overt political campaigning in light of its charitable status.

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