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
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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.
Latest updates
NI government responds to hate crime free speech concerns
Posted: Fri, 28 Apr 2023 12:37
Northern Ireland's Department of Justice has agreed free speech protections are necessary in hate crime laws, following concerns raised by the National Secular Society.
The Department of Justice (DoJ) ran a consultation on a new Hate Crime Bill for NI last year. It included proposals that would broaden the definition of hate crime, create a new aggravated offence for sectarian hate crimes, and potentially expand 'hate speech' laws to cover online content.
In its response, the NSS warned some of the proposed reforms could undermine free speech. Its concerns were shared by many other respondents.
Last month the DoJ published a summary of consultation submissions and its response. The NSS welcomed many of the DoJ's responses, which addressed concerns raised about freedom of expression.
- The NSS said the threshold for hate crime legislation should be of a "sufficient high level" when criminalising a person hate motivated offences, due to the serious potential implications for free speech. Our view was held by the majority of respondents. The Minister of Justice agreed not to reduce the threshold.
- The DoJ originally proposed to replace the 'dwelling defence', which protects private speech within homes, with a 'private conversation defence' for 'stirring up hate' offenses. The NSS said it saw "no compelling case" for removing the dwelling defence, a view shared by over 90% of respondents. It said the DoJ should instead create additional protections for other private conversations. The Minister said it would retain the dwelling defence and "modernize" it to strengthen protections for private conversations.
- Most respondents, including the NSS, agreed that the definition of sectarianism in hate crime law should not include political opinion, as this could risk the freedom to expression around politics. The Minister agreed to exclude it. The DoJ also referenced suggestions from the NSS and others for more fundamental changes to address sectarianism, such as in the education system.
- The NSS said any inclusion of sectarianism in hate crime law should be 'future proofed' to include denominations from non-Christian religions if required. It said crimes motivated by non-Christian sectarianism were already occurring in the UK, including violence against Ahmadi Muslims perpetrated by Muslims of other strands of Islam. The Minister said sectarian hate crime legislation would be 'future proofed' in this way.
While the NSS welcomed these moves, it expressed disappointment that there was no mention of reviewing NI's blasphemy laws. NI is the only jurisdiction in the UK with blasphemy laws. England and Wales repealed their blasphemy laws in 2008. Scotland repealed them via the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021.
The NSS said there is "always the risk" the blasphemy laws may be invoked to silence criticism or ridicule of religion, and that their presence in NI "undermines efforts to repeal blasphemy laws worldwide". Blasphemy laws are widely used to persecute religious minorities, the non-religious and those who speak out against the status quo.
NSS head of campaigns Megan Manson said: "We are pleased that the Department of Justice has addressed several of our concerns, shared by many other organisations, regarding potential risks to free speech in proposed reforms to Northern Ireland's hate crime laws.
"But the proposals miss a glaring opportunity to scrap NI's archaic and illiberal blasphemy laws. Scotland used its recent hate crime law reform to abolish them. NI should join the rest of the UK in doing likewise."
Regulators halt advert plans following NSS censorship concerns
Posted: Fri, 14 Apr 2023 10:49
Regulators have abandoned proposed new rules for advertising after the National Secular Society warned they may result in greater religious censorship.
The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP), which are responsible for writing advertising regulation guidelines, have this month announced they will not adopt stricter guidelines around protected characteristics defined by equality law.
The proposals, announced in 2021, said marketers and broadcasters "must have particular regard to the likelihood of causing harm" to people with protected characteristics including "religion or belief".
The NSS said the rules could "inadvertently have a detrimental effect on the public – including on the basis of their protected characteristics" in response to a consultation on the proposals.
The consultation document did not define "harm", saying it "is a commonly understood term".
The NSS said this meant a religious person could argue they were 'harmed' by an advert that offended their beliefs. This could lead to censorship of depictions of people representing other protected characteristics.
It cited past examples of such censorship, including an advert for Antonio Federici ice cream banned by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA), the regulator which enforces the CAP code, in 2010.
The advert (pictured) showed two priests who appeared to be on the verge of kissing, which ASA said was potentially "offensive to Catholics". The NSS warned such censorship fuels "homophobic social narratives that there is something inherently offensive, shameful and immoral about being gay".
The NSS recommended that CAP and BCAP "re-consider the necessity of these additional rules" and "provide greater clarity" as to what is meant by 'harm'.
In a statement on the outcome of their consultation, CAP and BCAP said that having "carefully reviewed" the responses to the consultation, they concluded that their codes' existing rules on social responsibility and harm "are adequate in protecting against or reducing the likelihood of harm arising from advertising and other marketing communications".
They added that they will "continue to introduce specific, detailed guidance on preventing harm to particular groups sharing one or more of the protected characteristics in response to robust evidence of real-world harm to those groups being caused by advertising".
NSS: Censorship "can stigmatise and harm" the very people who need protection
NSS head of campaigns Megan Manson said: "We welcome CAP and BCAP's decision to abandon the proposed rules which, while well-intended, risked greater censorship of material that may offend religious beliefs.
"This in turn can stigmatise and harm the very people that CAP and BCAP seek to protect.
"We are grateful to CAP and BCAP for taking our concerns seriously and concluding that their existing comprehensive rules are adequate to ensure people are, rightly, protected from harm."
