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Are we capable of offending God? Taking blasphemy seriously
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Pringle, Helen |
| Copyright Year | 2006 |
| Abstract | Until quite recently there appeared to be a consensus in Western democracies as to the desirability of abolishing the offence of blasphemy and blasphemous libel. Indeed, in 1949, Lord Denning argued that ‘the offence of blasphemy is a dead letter’. According to Lord Denning, the basis of the law against blasphemy was the idea that ‘a denial of Christianity was liable to shake the fabric of society, which was itself founded upon the Christian religion’, a danger that no longer existed.1 A long series of judicial remarks and government reports, most recently by the House of Lords Select Committee on Religious Offences in 2003,2 stressed the archaism of the offence, and endorsed some form of proposal to abolish or further confine it. However, in the 1990s, dissenting voices were raised against the consensus, particularly from Muslims who argued that in fact the law should be extended beyond Christianity. Misgivings about the effect of such an extension on the freedom of speech have dogged such proposals, particularly where they have found form in laws against religious vilification. |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| DOI | 10.22459/ns.06.2006.03 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p35161/pdf/chapter03.pdf |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://doi.org/10.22459/ns.06.2006.03 |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
