New Blasphemy Crime for Ireland?

The Irish Government’s new proposed blasphemy crime combines the oppressive religious thinking of 1950s Catholic Ireland and modern Islamic fundamentalism.

This proposal should be opposed for three reasons. One, it does not protect religious belief; it encourages outrage and it criminalises free speech. Two, it treats religious beliefs as more valuable than secular beliefs and scientific thinking. Three, we should be removing 1930s religious references from the Irish Constitution, not legislating to enforce them.

Atheist Ireland, as an advocacy group for a rational, ethical, secular Ireland, encourages Irish citizens to lobby their TDs about this proposal. Here are detailed arguments for the three reasons to oppose it, plus a summary of the proposed new crime and its background.

The proposed new blasphemy crime and its background

Under the proposal, which is part of a wider defamation bill, “a person who publishes or utters blasphemous matter shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable upon conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding €100,000.”

“Blasphemous matter” is defined as matter “that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby causing outrage among a substantial number of the adherents of that religion; and he or she intends, by the publication of the matter concerned, to cause such outrage.”

The background is this: Under Article 40 of the Irish Constitution, blasphemy is an offence which shall be punishable in accordance with law. In 1999, the Supreme Court found that the existing law against blasphemy was unenforceable, as there was no definition of blasphemy.

Last year the Oireachtas committee on the Constitution recommended removing the reference to blasphemy from the Constitution. Instead, this proposed new law creates a legal definition of blasphemy, in order to make the offence punishable in law.

We should be working towards an ethical and secular society, where we address our differences of belief in rational terms.

Reason One: This proposed law does not protect religious belief; it encourages outrage and it criminalises free speech.

Under this proposed law, if one group of people expresses one belief about gods, and a second group of people thinks that this insults a different beliefs about gods, then the second group can become outraged, and this outrage makes it illegal for the first group to express their beliefs.

The problematic behaviour here is the outrage, not the expression of different beliefs. Instead of encouraging outrage, we should be educating people to respond in a more healthy manner than outrage when somebody expresses a belief that they find insulting.

Also, it is not restricted to expressions about beliefs. This outrage could be triggered by people expressing scientifically validated facts about the origin of the universe, which could be offensive to young earth creationists.

More worryingly, this law would encourage, reinforce and protect the type of orchestrated outrage that Islamic fundamentalists directed against Danish cartoonists and novelists. It could also help Islamic communities in Ireland to enforce Sharia law on Islamic women living here.

Reason Two: This proposed law treats religious beliefs as more valuable than secular beliefs and scientific thinking

From an ethical perspective, I find it abusive and insulting that the Christian Bible suggests that a woman should be stoned to death for not being a virgin on her wedding night, or that it is okay to kill your slave if he dies slowly, or that effeminate people are unrighteous, or that women must not teach and must learn in silence, or that people should worship a God who threatens to make you eat your own children, who sends bears to kill children for mocking a bald man, and who says that he will bring so much evil it will make your ears tingle.

From a scientific perspective, I find it abusive and insulting that Christians teach impressionable children that the creator of the universe impregnated a virgin to give birth to himself, or that many dead bodies rose from their graves and walked through Jerusalem when Jesus died, or that the creator of the universe turns pieces of bread and volumes of wine into his own body and blood every time a priest on the planet earth chooses to utter a particular set of words. I believe that these false beliefs harm the ongoing human quest for knowledge.

If enough atheists are outraged about these passages, should the Christian Bible be banned? I do not believe that the Bible should be banned, and neither should discussion of the Bible in terms that cause Christians to be outraged.

Reason Three: We should be removing 1930s religious references from the Irish Constitution, not legislating to enforce them

Today, under the Irish Constitution, you cannot become President or be appointed as a Judge unless you take a religious oath under God asking god to direct and sustain you in your work. Also, an atheist Taoiseach or Tanaiste could not take their place on the Council of State without swearing a religious oath.

This means that up to a quarter of a million Irish people cannot take up these offices without swearing a lie. These religious declarations are contrary to Ireland’s obligations under the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The preamble to our Constitution states that all authority of the State comes from, and all actions of the State must be referred to, a specific god called the Most Holy Trinity. It also humbly acknowledges all of the obligations of the people of the State to a specific god called Our Lord Jesus Christ.

In Article 44, the State acknowledges that the homage of public worship is due to Almighty God and that the State shall hold His Name in reverence. This is not an assertion of the right of citizens to worship this god. It is an assertion of the right of this god to be worshipped by citizens.

The Constitution also contains other references to this god. Article 6 states that all powers of government derive, under God, from the people. Article 40 makes blasphemy an offence. The last line of the Constitution dedicates the Constitution to the glory of God and the honour of Ireland.

Our national parliament recognises the rights of this god by starting each day’s business with a prayer to it. This prayer explicitly asks this god to direct the actions of our parliamentarians, so that their every word and work may always begin from and be happily ended by Christ Our Lord.

There are also other references in the Constitution to religion, as opposed to gods.

We should be amending our Constitution to remove these theistic references, not creating new crimes to enforce provisions that were written in the 1930s

Some International Context

The UN’s Universal Declaration on Human Rights contains articles which militate against the idea that blasphemy is a crime. Article 7 says everyone is equal before the law. Article 21 supports democracy not theocracy. Article 18 declares that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Article 19 says everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

In 2007 the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe made recommendations on how States should treat blasphemy, religious insults and hate speech. It noted that States must act within the limits imposed by the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, and said that:

“In this connection, the Assembly considers that blasphemy, as an insult to a religion, should not be deemed a criminal offence. A distinction should be made between matters relating to moral conscience and those relating to what is lawful, matters which belong to the public domain, and those which belong to the private sphere. Even though today prosecutions in this respect are rare in member states, they are legion in other countries of the world.”

However, in recent years, Muslim countries have led a campaign to persuade the United Nations to oppose defamation of religion. In March 2009 the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution condemning “defamation of religion” as a human rights violation. The motion was proposed by Pakistan to combat defamation of Islam, as in the case of the cartoons of the prophet Muhammad, and opposed by Western countries who said it would restrict freedom of speech. The World Jewish Congress condemned the vote as an attempt to further the blasphemy laws of some Muslim countries.

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True as God? Part 2

Here are ten more examples of passages from the Christian Bible that are either silly or unjust. You can read the first ten examples in the series here.

11. God will save only 144,000 male virgins, undefiled by women (Rev 14:3-5)

And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.

12. Effeminate people are unrighteous and cannot go to heaven (1 Cor 6:9-10)

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

13. Jesus sent devils into 2,000 pigs and drowned them in the sea (Mark 5:11-13)

Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.

14. If you believe in Jesus you can safely drink poison (Mark 16:16-18)

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

15. Jesus ordered his apostles to sell their clothes to buy swords (Luke 22:35-38)

And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing. Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end. And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough.

16. Women must not teach and must learn in silence (1 Tim 2:11-14)

Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

17. Priests may not shave off the corners of their beards (Lev 21:5)

They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.

18. Priests may not marry a whore or a divorced woman (Lev 21:7)

They shall not take a wife that is a whore, or profane; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband: for he is holy unto his God.

19. If a priest’s daughter plays the whore, she must be burned with fire (Lev 21:9)

And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire.

20. It is unnatural and shameful for men to have long hair (1 Cor 11:14)

Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?

Photo: Bible Title Page by mrbill (cc)

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True as God? Part 1

The Christian Bible contains many assertions that are either silly or unjust. I’ve been posting them one at a time on Twitter. Here are the first ten together:

1. Dragons and owls honour God because he puts rivers in the desert (Isaiah 43:20) 

The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen.

2. Dwarves or flat-nosed men may not offer bread at the altar of God (Lev 21:16-23) 

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God. For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous, Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded, Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken; No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God. He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy. Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them.

3. King Saul gave his daughter to David for 200 foreskins (1 Sam 18:25-27) 

And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David, The king desireth not any dowry, but an hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king’s enemies. But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king’s son in law: and the days were not expired. Wherefore David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full tale to the king, that he might be the king’s son in law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife.

4. God sends bears to kill children for mocking a bald man (2 Kings 2:22-24) 

So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake. And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.

5. God will bring so much evil that it will make your ears tingle (Jer 19:3) 

And say, Hear ye the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle.

6. When Jesus died, many local corpses came back to life (Mat 27:50-53) 

Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

7. New brides must prove their virginity or be stoned to death (Deut 22:13-21) 

If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her, And give occasions of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid: Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel’s virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate: And the damsel’s father shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man to wife, and he hateth her; And, lo, he hath given occasions of speech against her, saying, I found not thy daughter a maid; and yet these are the tokens of my daughter’s virginity. And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city.

And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him; And they shall amerce him in an hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days. But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel: Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father’s house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you.

8. God tells Isaiah to walk naked and barefoot for three years (Isaiah 20:2-3) 

At the same time spake the LORD by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. And the LORD said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia;

9. It is okay to kill your slave if he takes a few days to die (Ex 21:20-21) 

And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished. Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.

10. If you disobey God, he will make you eat your own children (Lev 26:27-29) 

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