The ice cream chain, which is known for its decadent frozen desserts, was founded in 2015 by Andrew Richmond and Amin Todai. The chain has 20 locations, mainly clustered in the Greater Toronto Area.
The company has recently expanded into the US and plans on expanding to more locations south of the border, a move that has raised the ire of Christians.
“Choosing the name of our Lord for a brand of soft-serve ice cream is totally offensive and revolting,” according to an activist group.
“This is anything but a mere mistake,” the petition, signed by almost 10,000 people, reads. “Both in their promotional materials and menu selection, it is plain to see that Richmond and Todai have every intention of mocking Christ and Christianity.
“If anything could qualify as hate speech, this is it.”
Another petition on Change.org says if a chain were to use a name invoking figures from other religions, it wouldn’t be permitted.
“We are calling on not just Christians, but anyone who is against religious discrimination to take a stand against this brand until the name is changed so as not to be offensive and until such time as it does not discriminate against any religion,” that petition reads.
Those against the chain are calling for an apology and a name change.
But in a statement, the owners say they aren’t planning on doing the latter.
“We are conscious of the fact that, to some, our name can be off-putting,” Richmond says. “That fact is something we struggle with because we sincerely do not wish to give offence or show disrespect in any way toward anyone’s personal beliefs.
“After a lot of thought, we have decided that we will not make a change”, the statement continues.
“Sweet Jesus is an honest reflection of our experiences and that of our customers and how they react when they try our product.
“In our experience, the majority of people understand that we’re not trying to make a statement about religion.”
