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
Danish blasphemy law questioned by church minister
Posted: Wed, 13 Nov 2013 14:05
A Danish church minister has argued for the abolition of the country's blasphemy law saying it undermines democracy by limiting free speech, abuses human rights and no longer serves any purpose.
The last prosecution under the law was in 1946 when a couple received a small fine for "baptising" a doll at a carnival.
Writing in Politiken magazine, Manu Sareen says the law, which can lead to a fine or 4 years in prison for "publicly mocking or deriding the teachings or worship of a legally existing religious community in the country", privileges religious beliefs over other beliefs. He wrote: "Free speech and human rights are far more important than the danger that someone might feel offended if their religion is subject to mockery and derision.
"No one would dream of, for example, making it punishable to call the Danish constitution a 'pathetic little pamphlet', even though it would be considered a mockery of all the people who believe in Danish democracy."
He wrote that it makes it more difficult to criticise countries like Russia or Pakistan that misuse blasphemy law when Denmark had its own version on its law books.
Jacob Mchangama, the director of legal affairs at the liberal think-tank Cepos, supported Sareen's proposal, telling Politiken: "Free speech is a cornerstone of Danish democracy, and religious feelings should not be afforded any special protection but rather should be subject to precisely the same criticism, satire and mockery that are levelled at political and philosophical ideologies,".
But the bishop of Aarhus told the Jyllands-Posten newspaper that abolishing the law would "suggest that everything under the sun is equal and that we can say whatever we like without there being any consequences".
A poll last year showed that 66% of Danes supported the retention of the blasphemy law.
Ireland considers replacing blasphemy law with “religious hatred” legislation
Posted: Mon, 4 Nov 2013 13:35
The Convention set up by the Irish Government to bring the country's constitution up-to-date has recommended that the offence of blasphemy should be removed from the constitution in its current form and replaced with a general provision that would include incitement to religious hatred.
But Terry Sanderson, President of the National Secular Society warned that such a move could make things even worse.
"When the blasphemy law in England was scrapped there was a similar call for a replacement. It came as the Racial and Religious Hatred Act. In its original form this was much more restrictive than the blasphemy law – which had become obsolete and unusable anyway.
"It was only after vigorous campaigning by the National Secular Society and others that the legislation was amended to protect free speech. The Irish legislators should learn from that and not create a law that gives religious groups an open door to suppress criticism and claim 'religious hatred' whenever someone says something that they don't like. Unless it is carefully framed, such a law has all the potential to be another form of blasphemy law, but one that has teeth."
Mr Sanderson said no-one had been prosecuted under the present blasphemy provisions, but a more catch-all law could open the floodgates to all kinds of accusations of 'religious hatred' that could significantly impinge on free expression.
He said that there were religious groups that were anxious to have legal methods of silencing critics or mockers of their faith. They should not be handed that tool by the Irish Government.
Dr Ali Selim of the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland said blasphemy law should be retained, arguing that freedom of expression should not be "unrestrained" and must be used responsibly.
Separately, the Order of the Knights of St Columbanus had argued that the blasphemy law served to safeguard the right of believers "not to suffer unwarranted offence arising from the gratuitous impugning of sacred matter".
At present, the Irish Constitution explicitly states that blasphemy — speaking sacrilegiously about God — should be a crime. Article 40.6.1.i states:
"The publication or utterance of blasphemous, seditious, or indecent matter is an offence which shall be punishable in accordance with law."
Blasphemy became a criminal offence in 2009 under defamation laws introduced by then-Minister Dermot Ahern, who argued that the Constitution requires that blasphemy be regarded as a criminal offence.
But Dr Neville Cox of Trinity College Dublin said the relevant part of the 2009 Defamation Act, which sets a maximum fine of €25,000 for those found guilty of publishing or uttering blasphemous material, was too tightly drawn to be applied in practice.
He said the law's requirement that a publisher must be proven to have intended to cause outrage among a substantial number of a religion's adherents meant it "will be very difficult successfully to prosecute the offence".
Dr Cox also pointed to a decision by the Supreme Court in Corway v Independent Newspapers, a 1999 case in which the court said it couldn't define blasphemy and therefore couldn't apply the constitutional prohibition. "What this did was render the crime of blasphemy a dead letter," he said.
Sinn Féin Senator Kathryn Reilly pointed to a UN report which said that blasphemy laws are not compatible with human rights. "Blasphemy is not a valid offence in public law and should not be a criminal offence in a democratic society that respects diversity," she said.
Separately, the Irish Council of Churches said that the current reference to blasphemy is 'largely obsolete' and could be seen as part of a range of measures used to 'justify violence and oppression against minorities in other parts of the world'.
