The Supreme Court in Brazil has given the go ahead to Netflix to continue streaming a comedy that depicts Jesus as homosexual. 

"The First Temptation of Christ" was created by Brazilian comedy group Porta Does Fundos and first aired on December 3, coinciding with the Christmas season.

The Netflix blurb described it as a "Christmas special so wrong".

It sparked outrage across Brazil, with over 2.3 million people signing a petition demanding its removal from the streatming platform. 

Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of conservative Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, was among the outspoken critics against the satire.

"We support freedom of expression, but is it worth attacking the belief of 86 per cent of the population?" Bolsonaro said.

The strength of feeling among Brazilians was laid bare when the Rio de Janeiro office of Porta dos Fundos was attacked with firebombs on Christmas Eve. No one was injured in the attack.

A lower court last Tuesday came down on the side of the critics and ordered Netflix to remove the comedy special. 

However, that decision was reversed on Thursday by the Supreme Court, with the President of Brazil's Supreme Court, Justice José Antonio Dias Toffoli, stating that freedom of expression is a fundamental right of democracy.

"A piece of satire is not going to undermine the values of Christian faith, which has been around for more than 2,000 years," he wrote in his judgement.