Bishop Steve Lowe the Catholic Bishop of the Hamilton says New Zealanders are fortunate to live in a land where freedom of speech and belief was enshrined in law and blasphemy laws seem archaic. “Some years ago I had a wonderful opportunity to visit Pakistan at a time when their Blasphemy Laws were causing real Read more
New Zealand still has an anti blasphemy law, though neither the prime minister nor the Anglican archbishop was aware of the fact. The law – which appears not have been used since 1922 – came to light after reports that British entertainer Stephen Fry faced police investigation in the Republic of Ireland for comments he Read more
Jakarta’s Christian governor, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, was formally named a suspect in a blasphemy investigation on Wednesday Nov 16. It is alleged the he insulted Islam. Naming someone a suspect is a formal step in the Indonesian legal system that means authorities believe they have enough preliminary evidence to consider filing charges. Purnama, who could Read more
Georgia is planning a “blasphemy bill” that will make religious irreverence severely punishable by law. A proposed bill would impose a 100 lari fine (US$120) for “insults to religious feelings”, which would double for a repeat offence. Desecrating a religious symbol could cost up to 1000 lari. The average monthly salary is Georgia is no Read more
“The problem with defending free speech is that if you go to bat for the dead and heroic cartoonists of Charlie Hebdo, you also have to defend Hollywood’s right to make jokes about killing the leader of North Korea and a daft heavy metal band’s right to insult a chunk of the public simply because Read more
The recently enacted Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015 allows for an individual to begin proceedings if it is alleged that a digital communication caused an individual to suffer serious emotional stress by denigrating that individual’s religion. The Humanist Society of New Zealand have taken issue with the Act. They agree there is a need to address Read more
Catholic leaders in Pakistan will appeal to the nation’s Supreme Court against the death sentence given to a Christian woman for blasphemy. Last week, the Lahore High Court upheld the sentence handed down in 2010 against Asia Bibi. She is the first Christian woman ever to be given the death sentence in Pakistan. One source Read more
Ireland’s legislators have been urged to exercise caution in preparing changes to the nation’s Constitution dealing with blasphemy as an offence. A Constitutional Convention has recommended removing the blasphemy provision, following overwhelming support for this in submissions. But a date for a referendum has yet to be decided. The Church of Ireland’s David Pierpont, Archdeacon Read more
While most of the Western World turns a blind eye to blasphemy, Russia has just enacted a tough law that imposes heavy fines or even a prison term. The law applies to “public acts that manifest patent disrespect for society and are committed with the aim of offence to the religious feelings of believers”. The Read more
The depiction of Jesus as a dog in adverts for The Graham Norton Show has been deemed appropriate by the Broadcasting Standards Authority. The TV advertisement, which aired in December, included a photograph of a couple dressed as Mary and Joseph holding a dog in swaddling clothes. In the week leading up to Christmas, TV3 broadcast the Read more