Blasphemy

Some religions consider blasphemy to be a religious crime. As of 2012, anti-blasphemy laws existed in 32 countries, while 87 nations had hate speech laws that covered defamation of religion and public expression of hate against a religious group. Anti-blasphemy laws are particularly common in Muslim-majority nations, such as those in the Middle East and North Africa, although they are also present in some Asian and European countries. The word 'blasphemy' came via Middle English blasfemen and Old French blasfemer and Late Latin blasphemare from Greek βλασφημέω, from βλάπτω 'injure' and φήμη 'utterance, talk, speech'. From blasphemare also came Old French blasmer, from which English 'blame' came. Blasphemy: 'from Gk. blasphemia 'a speaking ill, impious speech, slander,' from blasphemein 'to speak evil of.'' 'In the sense of speaking evil of God this word is found in Ps. 74:18; Isa. 52:5; Rom. 2:24; Rev. 13:1, 6; 16:9, 11, 21. It denotes also any kind of calumny, or evil-speaking, or abuse (1 Kings 21:10 LXX; Acts 13:45; 18:6, etc.).' In some countries with a state religion, blasphemy is outlawed under the criminal code. In some states, blasphemy laws are used to impose the religious beliefs of a majority, while in other countries, they serve to offer protection of the religious beliefs of minorities. As of 2012, 33 countries had some form of anti-blasphemy laws in their legal code. Of these, 21 were Muslim-majority nations – Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, the Maldives, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Turkey, the UAE and Western Sahara. Blasphemy is treated as a capital crime (death penalty) in some Muslim nations. In these nations, such laws have led to the persecution, lynchings, murder or arrest of minorities and dissident members, after flimsy accusations. The other twelve nations with anti-blasphemy laws in 2012 included India and Singapore, as well as Christian majority states, including Denmark (abolished in 2017), Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland (the constitutional requirement for the offence of blasphemy was removed by referendum in October 2018 but blasphemy remains an offence as sections 36 and 37 of the Defamation Act 2009 remain in force), Italy, Malta (abolished in 2016), the Netherlands (abolished in 2014), Nigeria, Norway (abolished in 2015) and Poland. Spain's 'offending religious feelings' law is also, effectively, a prohibition on blasphemy. In Denmark, the former blasphemy law which had support of 66% of its citizens in 2012, made it an offence to 'mock legal religions and faiths in Denmark'. Many Danes saw the 'blasphemy law as helping integration because it promotes the acceptance of a multicultural and multi-faith society.' Other countries have removed bans on blasphemy. France did so in 1881 (except for the Alsace-Moselle region, part of Germany at the time) to allow freedom of religion and freedom of the press. Blasphemy was abolished or repealed in Sweden in 1970, England and Wales in 2008, Norway with Acts in 2009 and 2015, the Netherlands in 2014, Iceland in 2015, France for its Alsace-Moselle region in 2016, Malta in 2016, Denmark in 2017, Canada in 2018, and New Zealand in 2019. Where blasphemy is banned, it can be either some laws which directly punish religious blasphemy, or some laws that allow those who are offended by blasphemy to punish blasphemers. Those laws may condone penalties or retaliation for blasphemy under the labels of blasphemous libel, expression of opposition, or 'vilification,' of religion or of some religious practices, religious insult, or hate speech.