Irish atheists challenge blasphemy law

[ccharles000]

An atheist group in the Irish Republic has defied a new blasphemy law by publishing a series of anti-religious quotations on its website.

Atheist Ireland says it will fight any action taken against it in court.

The quotations include the words of writers such as Mark Twain and Salman Rushdie, but also Jesus Christ, the Prophet Muhammad and Pope Benedict XVI.

The new law makes blasphemy a crime punishable by a fine of up to 25,000 euros (£22,000; $35,000).

The government says it is needed because the republic's 1937 constitution only gives Christians legal protection of their beliefs.

The new law was passed in July 2009 but came into force on 1 January.

Atheist Ireland responded by publishing 25 quotes it considers anti-religious on its website.

The group said its aim is to have the law repealed and to attain a secular Irish constitution.

Chairman Michael Nugent said it would challenge the blasphemy law through the courts if it were charged, the London-based Guardian newspaper reported.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8437460.stm

[liberalhistorian]

1. Look, I'm a staunch, proud Christian and I don't apologize

for that at all. However, there is NO PLACE for blasphemy laws in a democratic, developed nation. NONE. NADA. ZIP. There should be NO such thing as a blasphemy law at all.

[Jackeens]

2. To repeat an earlier post...

This new 'blasphemy' bill is a joke - but it hasn't been introduced because the Government, much as I despise them, is made up of a bunch of nut-case religious bigots, honest!

Ireland's 1961 Defamation Act allowed for any one "who composes, prints or publishes any blasphemous or obscene libel" to be jailed for up to seven years. The new law means no-one guilty of blasphemy can be jailed, only fined.

The law, of course, should be scrapped, but for that to happen a referendum would need to be held because it would require a change to the constitution. Quite honestly, Ireland is so ****ed economically at the moment we'd barely have the money to fund a referendum, but more importantly the law is regarded as a joke - so there's no urgency about scrapping it. In 1999 our Supreme Court ruled that it was impossible to say "of what the offence of blasphemy consists", which effectively makes prosecutions impossible. I don't ever remember any one in my lifetime being charged with blasphemy (I could be wrong), it's a dead law.

So, it's all a mess. The only thing significant about the new law is that a jail sentence is no longer possible for any one found guilty of blasphemy....and it's unlikely any one will ever be charged.

We do things in a round-a-bout way in my country.

[enlightenment]

3. Ah - but Jackeens, if the government is so strapped for cash,

wouldn't it be more likely to use the law as a way to raise a bit of revenue?

[HeresyLives]

4. Yes, they are making a larger point.

As long as that law is on the books, it can be used. It won't be seen for a joke after that.

Plus, they want a secular constitution, and this is one more way to go about it.

[Jackeens]

6. I'm with the atheists, I'd love a secular constitution too.....

....but this law is a joke - as I said above, it was brought in primarily to remove the threat of prison to those found guilty of blasphemy (and I still can't remember anyone found guilty of that charge in my lifetime), so it's actually, in an utterly bizarre kind of way, a semi-liberal law :shrug:

But there's still way too much God stuff in our constitution for my liking - it should be said, though, that the 'special position' of the Catholic Church in the Irish Constitution was removed by the people in a 1972 referendum. So we're not as in thrall to Rome as some folk think. :-)

[Jackeens]

5. Trust me, no! Religion, particularly of the Catholic kind, isn't too popular in Ireland these days..

....so I'm struggling to imagine a single soul in our country being stupid enough to press for the prosecution of any one under the blasphemy law.

True, we have our fair share of right-wing bible-bashing nut jobs, but, err, praise the Lord, they're merely figures of fun.

In short? This is much ado about nothing.

[smalll]

7. Interesting. I assumed this new law was NOT out of religious bigotry on the part of the gov't --

however, as is stated in the OP,

"The government says it is needed because the republic's 1937 constitution only gives Christians legal protection of their beliefs."

I can't help but suspect that this law was passed to appease Muslims in Ireland. We know there are many, and many vocal and militant, Muslims in Britain. Has Ireland developed a sizeable Islamic population recently?

[Jackeens]

9. That appears to be a factor too, smalll. Muslim population up 70% in last 7 years.

There's been huge immigration to Ireland in recent years, the rough estimate is that a quarter of the population is now 'non-national', to use the lingo.

Islam is now the third largest religious group behind Catholics and Church of Ireland (ie from the various Protestant denominations).

http://www.cso.ie/newsevents/pr_census2006Religion.htm

[HBravo]

8. They need separation of Church and State.