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.
Latest updates
Pakistani court orders woman facing death for blasphemy to be freed
Posted: Wed, 31 Oct 2018 11:43
Pakistan's Supreme Court has ordered the freeing of Asia Bibi, who awaited a death sentence for blasphemy for eight years and had recently submitted her final appeal.
On Wednesday morning the three-judge court ordered that her conviction be set aside and she be released. The judgment said she "appears to be a person, in the words of Shakespeare's King Lear, 'more sinned against than sinning'".
The judges said the court had seen no solid evidence of Bibi's wrongdoing and the witnesses who testified against her had presented contradictory stories. They described the prosecution's case as "nothing short of concoction incarnate".
The decision has provoked furious protests from Islamist groups across Pakistan. Members of Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP), a party dedicated to punishing 'blasphemy', gathered in Lahore and blocked roads in Karachi. Some returned to the site of a protest camp which crippled the capital city Islamabad last year.
A senior figure in the TLP, Afzal Qadri, has said all three judges are now liable for death.
Khadim Rizvi, the TLP's leader, recently said he would "paralyse the country within hours" if Bibi was freed. Islamists vowed to hold large protests and kill the judges if they did not authorise the death sentence.
Bibi's defenders within Pakistan have taken great personal risks since she was sentenced to death in 2010. In 2011 the governor of Punjab province, Salmaan Taseer, and the minorities minister, Shahbaz Batti, were murdered after they spoke in her defence and called for reform of blasphemy laws.
Earlier this month Bibi's lawyer spoke of the risks of defending her. He said he had lost his health and privacy and was subject to round-the-clock police protection.
Some commentators noted that lower courts in Pakistan are reluctant to acquit blasphemy defendants out of fears for their personal safety and said today's decision may lead to more cases being referred upwards.
Three weeks ago the National Secular Society wrote to the Foreign Office and urged it to "do everything within its power" to secure Bibi's release.
In response to a parliamentary question on the subject on 15 October, Foreign Office minister Mark Little said the government was "deeply concerned about the "misuse" of the blasphemy laws in Pakistan".
Today NSS chief executive Stephen Evans welcomed the court's decision and praised the judges' "bravery in the face of appalling intimidation from Islamic fundamentalists".
"Human rights defenders around the world will be heartened by the decision to free Asia Bibi, who has suffered a wholly unjustifiable ordeal. They will extend their gratitude to those who have defended her at such great risk and the brave judges who have freed her. Now she and her defenders must be protected.
"And the UK government must push Pakistan to repeal its blasphemy laws and promote secularist principles in its judiciary. Asia Bibi should never have been arrested and her fate should never have been dependent on the credibility of the witnesses against her.
"On other occasions blasphemy accusations will arise in different circumstances or judges will side with the Islamist mobs. The international community must see this case as a warning."
Pakistan's recently-elected prime minister, Imran Khan, has vowed to defend the country's blasphemy laws. Shortly after assuming office in August he also called on countries with large Muslim populations to raise a coordinated objection to cartoons of the Islamic prophet Muhammad at the UN.
The case against Bibi regarded an incident in 2009 when she had an argument with some Muslim women while labouring in a field. The women did not want to share a water bowl with Bibi because she was Christian.
Following a heated exchange, the three women complained to a local cleric who filed a blasphemy complaint with the authorities, claiming Bibi had sullied Muhammad's name.
Blasphemy accusations are routinely used in Pakistan to settle personal vendettas.
Bibi's case sparked an international outcry. The EU's special envoy for freedom of religion or belief Jan Figel told Pakistani officials that the renewal of the country's export privileges to Europe depended on Bibi's release. Last week the president of the European parliament raised the case in the parliamentary chamber.
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Read more: Quashing of Asia Bibi's blasphemy charge will not end her suffering, by Harriet Sherwood, The Guardian
Ireland votes to remove blasphemy from constitution
Posted: Tue, 30 Oct 2018 13:01
The National Secular Society has welcomed Irish voters' decision to repeal the blasphemy provisions in their country's constitution and called for international pressure to encourage other countries to follow suit.
On Saturday night it was announced that voters in the Republic of Ireland had voted to decriminalise blasphemy by a margin of 65% to 35% in a referendum on the subject.
The result means the word "blasphemous" will be removed from Article 40.6.1°.i of Ireland's constitution, which makes "the publication or utterance of blasphemous, seditious, or indecent matter" a punishable offence.
The justice minister will also move to amend Ireland's 2009 Defamation Act. Under the act it is illegal to publish or utter a matter that is "grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters sacred by any religion, thereby intentionally causing outrage among a substantial number of adherents of that religion".
This offence can generate a fine of up to €25,000 and was cited as the justification behind a police investigation into the actor Stephen Fry in 2017.
NSS spokesperson Chris Sloggett said the result of the referendum would "allow Ireland to stand consistently in solidarity with persecuted free thinkers around the world".
"Irish voters have taken a welcome stand for free speech and removed any doubt that this constitutional provision could at some point be used to justify cracking down on people for what they say about religion.
"Politicians in the UK should take note of this result, and the most obvious next step here should be the repeal of Scotland and Northern Ireland's blasphemy laws.
"Meanwhile the government must use the momentum this decision generates to increase the pressure on countries around the world to repeal their blasphemy laws. And it must redouble its efforts to protect those who face restrictions on their speech on religious issues worldwide."
Last year a report from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom found laws restricting free expression on religious issues in 71 countries. Most of these countries had severe punishments for those transgressing the laws.
Ireland has now passed three major secularising measures through referenda in the last three and a half years. In 2015 voters approved legal same-sex marriage equality and in May this year they chose to overturn the eighth amendment, which effectively banned abortion in almost all circumstances.
Earlier this month the health minister introduced parliamentary legislation which would allow abortion services to operate.
There have also been moves towards secularism in publicly-funded healthcare in Ireland. The trend suggests the Catholic Church's influence is declining.
The turnout for Ireland's blasphemy referendum was 44%.
