The Campaign to Overturn Ireland’s Blasphemy Law on Oct. 26 Has Begun

[phands]

For some, even in Ireland, this seems to be a bigger deal than the recent common sense decision to legalize abortion...

On October 26, Irish citizens will have the opportunity to vote in a referendum and overturn their nation’s blasphemy laws once and for all.


It’s a long time coming. Article 40.6.1 of the Irish Constitution prohibits “publication or utterance” of blasphemous content, which is obviously in the eye of the beholder. It’s not just a remnant of older law, either. It’s been evoked in recent years to punish comedians who called a Catholic communion wafer “haunted bread” and questioned why a benevolent God would ever create something as awful as bone cancer in children. While they could have been fined up to €25,000 for their statements, both cases were dropped after international bad press.


But the looming threat remains a problem and that’s why, yesterday, Atheist Ireland launched their campaign to overturn the blasphemy law.

I've long maintained that is no such thing as blasphemy (even though it's still a crime there), as there is no entity to blaspheme against.


http://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/...n-irelands-blasphemy-law-on-oct-26-has-begun/

 

[bilby]

For some, even in Ireland, this seems to be a bigger deal than the recent common sense decision to legalize abortion...

On October 26, Irish citizens will have the opportunity to vote in a referendum and overturn their nation’s blasphemy laws once and for all.


It’s a long time coming. Article 40.6.1 of the Irish Constitution prohibits “publication or utterance” of blasphemous content, which is obviously in the eye of the beholder. It’s not just a remnant of older law, either. It’s been evoked in recent years to punish comedians who called a Catholic communion wafer “haunted bread” and questioned why a benevolent God would ever create something as awful as bone cancer in children. While they could have been fined up to €25,000 for their statements, both cases were dropped after international bad press.


But the looming threat remains a problem and that’s why, yesterday, Atheist Ireland launched their campaign to overturn the blasphemy law.

I've long maintained that is no such thing as blasphemy (even though it's still a crime there), as there is no entity to blaspheme against.


http://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/...n-irelands-blasphemy-law-on-oct-26-has-begun/

I would go one step further, and say that even if there were an entity to blaspheme against, blasphemy should not be a crime, as the victim is more than capable of judging and (if appropriate) punishing any offenders. To have humans judge and punish acts of supposed blasphemy is redundant, and (if a victim exists), constitutes double jeopardy.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

This is true. If someone is executed for blasphemy, God would have no choice but to let them into Heaven since they couldn't be punished for the same crime twice. Since Western laws are based on Biblical principles and rules against double jeopardy are in Western laws, this concept must have come from a divine command.

 

[steve_bank]

I thought atheist and Irish were mutually exclusive terms, what with the power of the RCC.

 

[phands]

I thought atheist and Irish were mutually exclusive terms, what with the power of the RCC.

That was true when I moved to Ireland in 2001. By 2012, the RCC had receded in importance (due to scandals and child abuse) so much that they no longer have much sway at all. It's even better now. The abortion ban being overturned this year could never have happened in the old Ireland - there wouldn't even have been a discussion about the idea of having a referendum.

 

[bilby]

The incredibly rapid collapse of religion in Ireland gives me great hope for the USA.

There seems to come a tipping point where people go from "everyone else is religious, so there must be some truth to it all", to "everyone else can see that it's nonsense, so it's OK for me to speak my mind and say how crazy it is".

I was last in Ireland in the late 1990s, and got the impression that the average level of education was far higher than in my native England (I hypothesise as a backlash against centuries of being called 'stupid' by the English), and it seemed very odd to me that that population was so effectively controlled by the church.

 

[phands]

Ireland votes to remove blasphemy from Constitution by 64.85% to 35.15%

Not just a victory against this victimless crime...it was a rout!!!

[FONT=&quot]Voters have overwhelmingly supported the proposal to remove blasphemy as an offence from the Constitution.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The final result from Friday's referendum shows that 64.85% voted Yes while 35.15% voted No.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]A total of 951,650 people voted for the change, with 515,808 opposing the move.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The turnout was 43.79%.[/FONT]

https://www.rte.ie/news/2018/1027/1007130-blasphemy-referendum/

 

[RavenSky]

More excellent news!

 

[bilby]

Congratulations to Ireland on her successful escape from the stranglehold that, until very recently, the RC Church had on her institutions and people.

 

[Tharmas]

The incredibly rapid collapse of religion in Ireland gives me great hope for the USA.

There seems to come a tipping point where people go from "everyone else is religious, so there must be some truth to it all", to "everyone else can see that it's nonsense, so it's OK for me to speak my mind and say how crazy it is".

I was last in Ireland in the late 1990s, and got the impression that the average level of education was far higher than in my native England (I hypothesise as a backlash against centuries of being called 'stupid' by the English), and it seemed very odd to me that that population was so effectively controlled by the church.

I'm afraid your hope for the USA is misplaced. Ireland was a Catholic monoculture, and when the Catholic church was discredited there went religion. The USA is a religious smorgasborg, with the majority of churches being Protestant. The troubles of the US Catholic church will severely dent religious belief in the long run, but until the various Protestant denominations face something similar there will always be somewhere for the religiously minded to turn to.

The question is, how many ex Catholics will turn atheist or "None"? If the number is large it could have a significant effect. But I don't see the whole country turning secular in a matter of a few years.

And as for the general education of the population in the USA, well...

I hope I'm proven wrong.

 

[lpetrich]

Special Report - Diocese by diocese: The state of the Catholic Church on the island of Ireland today | Irish Examiner (April 3)

Pope Francis will visit Ireland later this year, but will find a different country to that which welcomed his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, almost four decades ago.

To take just one example, pubs can open on Good Friday — another sign that the influence of religion over the workings of the nation is on the wane.

On the ground, a survey of archdioceses and dioceses around the country shows an ageing priesthood, with human resources stretched.

It has meant parishes relying more on the laity, particularly the volunteering parish councils, while a small but growing number of serving priests are from overseas.

So it's happening there also.