Facts
- The legal notion of blasphemy dates back many centuries. The laws of blasphemy and blasphemous libel still stand in common law in England and Wales.1
- Since 1838, the law of blasphemy only protects the tenets and beliefs of the Church of England. Other Christian denominations are protected where their beliefs overlap with those of the Church of England.2
- In the twentieth century there were only four reported judgements. No blasphemy case has been prosecuted in England and Wales since the passage of the Human Rights Act 1998.3
- Northern Ireland inherited Irish Common law, which included the offence of blasphemy. Because the Irish law of blasphemy protected the beliefs of the Church of Ireland, some have argued the offence ceased with the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland in 1869.
- In Scotland the last reported prosecution for blasphemy was in 1843. Since Scottish law, unlike English law requires a personal interest in a matter for there to be any private prosecution, and since the state is unlikely to want to instigate a prosecution for blasphemy, a prosecution is unlikely to occur.5
To date there have been no prosecutions in Northern Ireland for Blasphemy. However, in Northern Ireland, incitement to religious hatred is an offence, although it is rarely prosecuted.4
Biblical arguments
The Bible clearly teaches that the name of the Lord is sacred. The third commandment states: “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.”6
The blasphemy laws are an extremely important expression of principle - that Jesus’ name is above every other name. Paul states in Philippians:
“Therefore God exalted him [Jesus] to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name…”7
It is this symbolic nature of the law that secularists object to. If this were not so secularists would not show such interest in repealing the law on blasphemy, given it is rarely used in practice.
Key points
- The blasphemy law recognises the unique contribution and status of Christianity in Britain. To remove the blasphemy law, or extend it to other religions, would challenge this. Any reform or abolition of the blasphemy law cannot be looked at separately from the constitutional role of Christianity in the state.
- The blasphemy law is essentially a defensive measure – no one is going to be put in prison for breaking the blasphemy laws (unlike the recently proposed offence of ‘incitement to religious hatred’).
- In January 2005 the BBC broadcast ‘Jerry Springer the Opera’. The show contained hundreds of swear words and features God the Father, Jesus Christ, Mary, Adam and Eve and Satan as warring guests on a special edition of the Jerry Springer show – staged in Hell. The show included a portrayal of Jesus as a childish, foul-mouthed woman beater with a sexual predilection for human excrement and who declares himself to be ‘a bit gay’.
- One group is to undertake a prosecution for blasphemy. And rightly so. We have no doubt that the broadcast of ‘Jerry Springer the Opera’ is blasphemous. However, we recognise that a conviction under the blasphemy laws is highly unlikely in the present climate.
- 1Select Committee on Religious Offences in England and Wales, Session 2002-03, HL Paper 95-I, pages 46-47
- 2Select Committee on Religious Offences in England and Wales, Session 2002-03, HL Paper 95-I, pages 38, 46-47
- 3Select Committee on Religious Offences in England and Wales, Session 2002-03, HL Paper 95-I, pages 10 and 46
- 4Select Committee on Religious Offences in England and Wales, Session 2002-03, HL Paper 95-I, page 56
- 5Select Committee on Religious Offences in England and Wales, Session 2002-03, HL Paper 95-I, page 56
- 6Exodus 20:7
- 7Philippians 2:9
