Blasphemy laws

A blasphemy law is a law relating to blasphemy, or irreverence toward holy personages, religious artefacts, customs, or beliefs. In the past blasphemy laws protected the majority religion within a jurisdiction from irreverence but there is now a trend to repeal all blasphemy and religious offence laws. National and international experts and bodies looking at human rights, freedom of expression, freedom of religion and belief, and violence based on religion or belief have consistently found that blasphemy laws conflict with freedom of religion and belief, freedom of expression, and with international law. Examining the suggestion that blasphemy law might protect all religions equally the experts have found the suggestion to be impracticable and in conflict with freedom of religion and belief, freedom of expression, and with international law.

In addition to prohibitions against blasphemy or blasphemous libel, blasphemy laws include all laws which give redress to those who feel insulted on account of their religion. These blasphemy laws may forbid: the vilification of religion, "religious insults," defamation of religion, denigration of religion, offending religious feelings, or the contempt of religion. In some jurisdictions, blasphemy laws include hate speech laws that extend beyond prohibiting the imminent incitement of hatred and violence.

In many countries either there are no laws against blasphemy, or long-established laws are no longer enforced. In the United States, for example, a prosecution for blasphemy would violate the Constitution according to the 1952 Supreme Court case Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson. The last person hanged for blasphemy in Great Britain was Thomas Aikenhead, aged 20, in Scotland in 1697. He was prosecuted for denying the veracity of the Old Testament and the legitimacy of Christ's miracles.

Similarly, in practically all of the developed Western world and East Asian developed democracies like Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan, blasphemy laws still technically in force are largely a dead letter.

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