Democracy cannot exist without the right to free speech.
Free speech should be robustly defended as a fundamental freedom.
The National Secular Society has defended free speech from religious threats since our founding. We played an instrumental role in abolishing "blasphemy" laws in Britain, but serious concerns remain. Blasphemy laws still exist in Northern Ireland. And throughout the UK, religious fundamentalists seek to impose their blasphemy taboos on others through violence and intimidation.
There are also increasing attempts to categorise offending religious sensibilities as 'hate speech', making criticism, mockery or perceived 'insult' of religion a criminal act akin to racial hatred or inciting violence – in other words, a 'blasphemy law by the back door'.
Without free speech no search for truth is possible; without free speech no discovery of truth is useful; without free speech progress is checked… Better a thousand fold abuse of free speech than denial of free speech.
We are further concerned by a developing 'culture of offence' in which any speech or action deemed likely to offend religious sensibilities is considered taboo. Enforced by a toxic mix of terrorism and religious deference, this is chilling free speech through self-censorship.
We also campaign against blasphemy laws around the world, where they continue to be used to target religious and political minorities. These are sometimes described by UK politicians as 'misuse' of blasphemy laws, but we contend there are never any legitimate uses for blasphemy laws.
Being offended from time to time is the price we all pay for living in a free society. Rather than trying to silence those we disagree with, we believe the answer to speech we don't like is more speech – better speech.
We therefore campaign to protect and preserve freedom of expression, including offensive, critical and shocking speech.
What you can do
1. Share your story
Tell us why you support this campaign, and how you are personally affected by the issue. You can also let us know if you would like assistance with a particular issue.
2. Join us
Become a member of the National Secular Society today! Together, we can separate religion and state for greater freedom and fairness.
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Non-religious suffer discrimination or persecution in most countries of the world, new report finds
Posted: Tue, 10 Dec 2013 06:51
A report, published by the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), has found that the non-religious are discriminated against, or outright persecuted, in most countries of the world. Launched on Human Rights day, the report, Freedom of Thought 2013, examines the treatment of atheists and the non-religious around the world, finding widespread discrimination by governments in every region.
Despite the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief being enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, IHEU's findings show that the overwhelming majority of countries fail to respect the rights of non-believers. Around the world, there are laws denying atheists the right to life, executing them for leaving a religion, criminalizing their criticism of religion, prohibiting them from holding public office, preventing them from working for the state, obstructing their access to public education, revoking their right to citizenship and right to marry.
Some of the report's key findings include the fact that there are 12 states in the world in which a person can face the death penalty for being an atheist, and 39 in which the law mandates a prison sentence for blasphemy, including six western countries.
12 countries in Africa, 9 in Asia, and 10 in the Middle East, were given the worst rating for committing "Grave Violations". Some of these states were found to have governments openly inciting hatred against atheists, or authorities systematically failing to prosecute violent crimes against atheists. The "crime" of apostasy was found to be punishable by death in 12 of the worst-offending states (all of which concerned leaving Islam), these were: Afghanistan, Iran, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
IHEU's research found 55 countries with 'blasphemy' laws on the books, or other laws forbidding criticism or "insult" to religion. In 39 of those, the law mandates a prison sentence for blasphemers, and in three – Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran – people can be executed for being "blasphemers". In another three states, militant Islamists acting as religious authorities in some areas are also dealing out Sharia punishment including death for "offences" to religion: namely Al-Shabaab in Somalia, Boko Haram and other Islamists in Nigeria, and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
There were six Western states to have been rated "severe" in their levels of discrimination because of their policies on blasphemy. In Denmark, Germany, Greece, Iceland, New Zealand, and Poland, people can be jailed for breaking the laws prohibiting blasphemy. In Germany and Greece the term can be up to three years.
The UK was found to have "systemic discrimination" against atheists and the non-religious. The report listed a number of contributing factors which included: the privileged constitutional status and position in official ceremonies that the established church in England and the established church in Scotland have; the privileged access that Bishops are granted to the UK parliament; Equality Act 2010 exemptions for religious organisations allowing them to discriminate in various ways, even when working under contract to provide a public service; and preferential VAT treatment for places of worship.
The discriminatory education system of the UK was also highlighted, where 'faith schools' now account for a third of all publicly funded schools – many of which are allowed to discriminate on faith grounds against pupils in their admission policies. Such schools are also permitted to discriminate against teachers on the grounds of their religious belief. A daily act of 'collective worship' is a still a legal requirement in all schools in England and Wales.
In the introduction to the report, Kacem El Ghazzali and Alber Saber, two victims of anti-blasphemy laws, in Morocco and Egypt respectively, commented that, "Freedom of thought and belief must not be compromised. When regimes violently attack people for their ideas and beliefs, all human rights suffer. Oppression of thought by the state is a sign, not of strength, but of egomania and cowardice.
"In spite of international treaties and conventions, many states discriminate in subtler but important ways. And this has a global impact. Laws against "insulting" religion in relatively secure, relatively secular countries, for example, are not only analogues of the most vicious blasphemy laws anywhere in the world, but help to sustain the global norm under which thought is policed and punished".
Non-believers are a large and growing population across the world. A detailed survey in 2012 revealed that those who identify as "atheist" make up 13%, and an additional 23% identify as "not religious".
It is the first time that the research has covered every country in the world, an inaugural edition in 2012 contained 60 countries.
You can read the Freedom of Thought 2013 report in full here (pdf).
An interactive map the results can be found here.
Netherlands scraps blasphemy law – but seeks a way to replace it
Posted: Thu, 5 Dec 2013 17:00
The upper House of the Dutch parliament has voted to abolish the country's blasphemy law (Article 147), which has been on the statute books since 1932. However, it still remains illegal under Dutch law to be disrespectful to police officers or to insult Queen Beatrix.
There had been some doubt about whether the abolition would go through after the Coalition Government tried to placate smaller religious parties – the votes of which it needs in order to get its economic policy through.
As a compromise, another parliamentary decision was approved that will permit an amendment to another statute in order to outlaw "serious insult to religion".
Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, said: "The blasphemy law in the Netherlands was more or less a dead duck anyway and hasn't been used for decades. Courts regarded it as unusable. Introducing something else in its place could be very much worse. Protecting religion from 'insult' gives the green light to every extremist in the country to start using the law to try to restrict free speech."
