Category: Blasphemy

Blasphemy: Historical anachronism or modern crime?

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| Blasphemy, Conferences, Lectures, Papers and Workshops

TCD Long Room Hub logoThe Long Room Hub, Trinity College Dublin, presents a public lecture entitled

Blasphemy: Historical anachronism or modern crime?

by Professor David Nash, Department of History, Oxford Brookes University, UK.

The lecture will take place from 4:00pm to 5:30pm on Tuesday, 20 April 2010 next, in the Swift Lecture Theatre (Room 2041A), Arts Building, Trinity College Dublin (map here).

David Nash is the author of Blasphemy in Modern Britain 1789-present (Ashgate Publishing, 1999 | Amazon) and Blasphemy in the Christian World (Oxford University Press, 2007 | Amazon) and I am told that all are welcome to attend (though it is probably best to contact the Hub to be sure). I’m really looking forward to this; it is just one of many forthcoming events organised by the Hub, especially their fascinating Trinity Week events (next week, from 12 to 17 April) under the banner of Ideas For the Future.…

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Oh no, it’s yet another post about blasphemy; oh yes, it is

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| Blasphemy
An Act against Atheism and Blasphemy, 1697; Massachusetts; 1759 printing, via Wikipedia
An Act against Atheism and Blasphemy, 1697; Massachusetts; 1759 printing, via Wikipedia

The Massachusetts Act against Blasphemy, 1697 (pictured right) amplified the common law offence of blasphemous libel. It was one of the four heads of the common law crime of libel which applied throughout the common law world, including Ireland. Section 35 of the Defamation Act, 2009 abolishes three of those four heads: the common law offences of defamatory, seditious and obscene libel. Similarly, section 73 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 in the UK does the same thing. However, the positions in Ireland and the UK diverge in their treatment of the fourth head, that of blasphemous libel. In the UK, the Blasphemy Act, 1697 (9 Will 3, c 35) was repealed by section 10 and Schedule 4 to the Criminal Law Act 1967, and section 79 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 abolished the common law offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel. On the other hand, in Ireland, the already-notorious section 36 of the Defamation Act, 2009, goes in precisely the opposite direction, providing for an offence of blasphemy. The difference is not so great as it might appear, however, since the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 made incitement to religious hatred a crime in the UK.…

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Referendum should thoroughly revise free speech clause

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| Blasphemy, Freedom of Expression, Irish Law, Irish Society

Celtic Biblical image, via poetheadPart 5 of the Defamation Act, 2009 (also here), which came into effect on 1 January this year, controversially makes blasphemy a criminal offence. In the view of the Minister for Justice, Dermot Ahern, the Constitution’s reference to blasphemy could not be ignored. It now seems that this reference might be removed. If so, the opportunity should be taken to revise the Constitution’s free speech clause in its entirety.

Stephen O’Brien reported in the Sunday Times last week that the Minister for Justice, Dermot Ahern, intends to propose an Autumn referendum to remove the offence of blasphemy from the Constitution (athiest.ie | Attracta | Dispatches | Guardian | Human Rights in Ireland | Human Rights World | Jurist | Bill Tormey | Volokh | William Quill). This was confirmed on Wednesday by Carol Coulter writing in the Irish Times (ABC | Catholic Lawyers | Iona | Sunday Times).

I have long argued that the protection of freedom of expression in the Irish Constitution is very puny indeed and ought to be replaced at the first opportunity. I argue in today’s Irish Times that a referendum to remove the offence of blasphemy from the Constitution would provide just that opportunity:

Referendum on blasphemy should revise free speech clause

The promised referendum to remove the reference to blasphemy from the Constitution should go further, and entirely revamp the very limited guarantee of freedom of expression … Deleting one objectionable word, rather than thoroughly revising the whole gruesome clause, would be equivalent to repairing a single broken slate on the roof of a house which needs complete refurbishment.

…

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Blasphemous rumours and constitutional amendments

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| Blasphemy, Freedom of Expression

Cover of Depeche Mode single 'Blasphemous Rumours' via their website; linked to the video of the songThe free speech guarantee in Article 40.6.1(i) of the Constitution is a fragile freedom, much to the inglorious discredit of Irish democracy. However, there is a slim chance that the controversy over the blasphemy provisions in Part 5 of the newly-commenced Defamation Act, 2009 might provide an opportunity to replace the current text of Article 40.6.1(i) with something rather more robust. Consequently, much more in hope than expectation, this post concludes with a suggestion for a replacement text, on which I would welcome any comments and suggestions.

But first, the context. The blasphemy provisions in the 2009 Act are provoking quite a bit of commentary in the media, both in Ireland (Sunday Independent | Sunday Tribune | Irish Times here and here | Sunday TImes) and abroad (BBC | CNN | Guardian | MSNBC | New York Daily News | Sydney Morning Herald | Washington Post). Even the Drudge Report has commented on the story; and there are more here). I particularly like the Post piece, because I’m quoted in it. More seriously, much of the coverage revolves around the publication by Atheist Ireland of 25 potentially blasphemous quotations in the hope of provoking a prosecution; and they’ve opened an online petition to challenge the blasphemy provisions of the 2009 Act.…

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Speech Art

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| Blasphemy, Censorship, Freedom of Expression, US Supreme Court

Cover of Bezanson's Randall P Bezanson has just pubished another very important book on on Art and Freedom of Speech (University of Illinois Press, 2009), exploring the decisions of the US Supreme Court relating to artistic expression under the First Amendment. From the abstract:

… In considering the transformative meaning of art, the importance of community judgments, and the definition of speech in Court rulings, Bezanson focuses on the fundamental questions underlying the discussion of art as protected free speech: What are the boundaries of art? What are the limits on the government’s role as supporter and “patron” of the arts? And what role, if any, may core social values of decency, respect, and equality play in limiting the production or distribution of art?

Accessibly written and evocatively argued, Art and Freedom of Speech explores these questions and concludes with the argument that, for legal purposes, art should be absolutely free under the First Amendment–in fact, even more free than other forms of speech.

In matters that have recently featured on this blog, his views on blasphemy (discussed here) and treaspassory art (discussed here) will resonate with our recent blasphemy and Cowengate controversies.

Mark Tushnet has written an excellent discussion of Bezanson’s book.…

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New year, new defamation regime

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| Blasphemy, Defamation

Department of Justice logo, via the Dept's siteAlison Healy, writing in today’s Irish Times, quotes a spokesperson for the Department of Justice as saying that

… no part of the [Defamation] Bill had come into force yet but the [Defamation] Act was expected to be commenced in January.

Healy continues that, whilst in July, the Department had said that the Act was expected to commence in October, the spokesperson confirmed that it is now expected to commence in January 2010. For earlier comments to the same effect, see Rossa McMahon (see also here).

Unfortunately, the headline is the far more sensationalist

Blasphemy law unlikely to come into force this year

Yes, the Defamation Act, 2009 (pdf) does indeed have provisions relating to blasphemy; yes, I’ve written quite a bit about those provisions on this blog; (and yes, international reaction (pdf) continues (pdf) to be negative); but there is far more to the Act than that. If you want to find out more, you could do worse than to attend this event.…

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Hello blasphemy … Bye bye debate?

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| Blasphemy

'Hello Divorce, Bye Bye Daddy' posterI’ve been putting some slides together for a talk I’m doing tonight at Ignite Dublin #1, and my colleague Dr Neville Cox provided me with the Sunday Independent cartoon which was the subject of the only attempt to prosecute mount a prosecution for blasphemy in Ireland since the adoption of the Constitution (Bunreacht na hÉireann) in 1937. The case is Corway v Independent Newspapers [1999] 4 IR 485; [2000] 1 ILRM 426; [1999] IESC 5 (30 July 1999). In the aftermath of the 1995 referendum which removed the constitutional ban on divorce, the Sunday Independent published an article by Dr Conor Cruise-O’Brien, on the implications of that referendum. The article was accompanied by this cartoon:

Progress



During the course of the campaign, those opposed to the amendment ran a powerful advertising campaign built around the slogan “Hello Divorce … Bye Bye Daddy …” (pdf; see the poster at the start of this post), and the cartoon’s caption was clearly a play upon that slogan. In Corway, the applicant wished to commence a prosecution for blasphemous libel against the cartoon and caption, on the grounds that they were calculated to insult the feelings and religious convictions of catholic readers by treating the sacrament of the Eucharist and its administration as objects of scorn and derision.…

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