Blasphemy

Blasphemy refers to an insult that shows contempt, disrespect or lack of reverence concerning a deity, an object considered sacred, or something considered inviolable.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] Some religions regard blasphemy as a crime, including insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, speaking the "sacred name" in Judaism,^[5] and blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is "eternal sin" in Christianity.^[6] It was also a crime under English common law.^[7]

In the early history of the Church, blasphemy "was considered to show active disrespect to God and to involve the use of profane cursing or mockery of his powers".^[8] In the medieval world, those who committed blasphemy were seen as needing discipline.^[8] By the 17th century, several historically Christian countries had legislation against blasphemy.^[8] Blasphemy laws were abolished in England and Wales in 2008, and in Ireland in 2020. Scotland repealed its blasphemy laws in 2021. Many other countries have abolished blasphemy laws including Denmark, the Netherlands, Iceland, Norway and New Zealand.^[9] As of 2019^[update], 40 percent of the world's countries still had blasphemy laws on the books, including 18 countries in the Middle East and North Africa, or 90% of countries in that region.^[10]^[11]^[12] Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, have no concept of blasphemy and hence prescribe no punishment.^[13] ^{[dubious – discuss]}

^ Miriam Díez Bosch and Jordi Sànchez Torrents (2015). On blasphemy. Barcelona: Blanquerna Observatory on Media, Religion and Culture. ISBN 978-84-941193-3-0.
^ "Blasphemy". Random House Dictionary. Retrieved 12 January 2015. Quote: impious utterance or action concerning God or sacred things.; the crime of assuming to oneself the rights or qualities of God.
^ Blasphemy Merriam Webster (July 2013); 1. great disrespect shown to God or to something holy
2. irreverence toward something considered sacred or inviolable
^ Blasphemies, in Webster's New World College Dictionary, 4th Ed,
1. profane or contemptuous speech, writing, or action concerning God or anything held as divine.
2. any remark or action held to be irreverent or disrespectful
^ Karesh, Sara; Hurvitz, Mitchell (2006). Encyclopedia of Judaism. United States: Facts on File. p. 180. It is considered blasphemy to utter God's personal names...Interestingly, this prohibition has crept into the practice of writing God's name in English. Many Jews will choose to write "G-d" instead of "God" to avoid blasphemy.
^ Concannon, Cavan W. (2017). Assembling Early Christianity: Trade, Networks, and the Letters of Dionysios of Corinth. Cambridge University Press. p. 114. The Didache cites Mark 3:28-29 and implicitly defines blaspheming the holy spirit as testing or examining a prophet who is speaking in the spirit (11:7). This is the sin that cannot be forgiven, though other sins can be resolved through repentance. Epiphanius, in his discussion of the heretics he calls the Alogi, says they have committed the unforgivable sin. Because they reject the Gospel of John, which was inspired by the holy spirit, their teaching is therefore contrary to what the spirit has said and liable to the penalty imposed by Jesus' saying.
^ "Blasphemy and the Original Meaning of the First Amendment". Harvard Law Review. 10 December 2021. Until well into the twentieth century, American law recognized blasphemy as proscribable speech. The blackletter rule was clear. Constitutional liberty entailed a right to articulate views on religion, but not a right to commit blasphemy — the offense of "maliciously reviling God", which encompassed "profane ridicule of Christ". The English common law had punished blasphemy as a crime, while excluding "disputes between learned men upon particular controverted points" from the scope of criminal blasphemy. Looking to this precedent, nineteenth-century American appellate courts consistently upheld proscriptions on blasphemy, drawing a line between punishable blasphemy and protected religious speech.
^ ^a ^b ^c Nash, David (2007). Blasphemy in the Christian World. Oxford University Press. pp. 3–5.
^ "Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill Information Note: Blasphemy" (PDF). gov.scot.
^ countries and territories worldwide had blasphemy laws in 2019, Pew Research (25 January 2022)
^ Laws Penalizing Blasphemy, Apostasy and Defamation of Religion are Widespread Pew Research (21 November 2012)
^ Blasphemy Divide: Insults to Religion Remain a Capital Crime in Muslim Lands The Wall Street Journal (8 January 2015)
^ Why Hinduism never developed a concept of blasphemy, Rediff.com, 4 February 2015.

[1] Miriam Díez Bosch and Jordi Sànchez Torrents (2015). On blasphemy. Barcelona: Blanquerna Observatory on Media, Religion and Culture. ISBN 978-84-941193-3-0.

[2] "Blasphemy". Random House Dictionary. Retrieved 12 January 2015. Quote: impious utterance or action concerning God or sacred things.; the crime of assuming to oneself the rights or qualities of God.

[3] Blasphemy Merriam Webster (July 2013); 1. great disrespect shown to God or to something holy
2. irreverence toward something considered sacred or inviolable

[4] Blasphemies, in Webster's New World College Dictionary, 4th Ed,
1. profane or contemptuous speech, writing, or action concerning God or anything held as divine.
2. any remark or action held to be irreverent or disrespectful

[5] Karesh, Sara; Hurvitz, Mitchell (2006). Encyclopedia of Judaism. United States: Facts on File. p. 180. It is considered blasphemy to utter God's personal names...Interestingly, this prohibition has crept into the practice of writing God's name in English. Many Jews will choose to write "G-d" instead of "God" to avoid blasphemy.

[6] Concannon, Cavan W. (2017). Assembling Early Christianity: Trade, Networks, and the Letters of Dionysios of Corinth. Cambridge University Press. p. 114. The Didache cites Mark 3:28-29 and implicitly defines blaspheming the holy spirit as testing or examining a prophet who is speaking in the spirit (11:7). This is the sin that cannot be forgiven, though other sins can be resolved through repentance. Epiphanius, in his discussion of the heretics he calls the Alogi, says they have committed the unforgivable sin. Because they reject the Gospel of John, which was inspired by the holy spirit, their teaching is therefore contrary to what the spirit has said and liable to the penalty imposed by Jesus' saying.

[7] "Blasphemy and the Original Meaning of the First Amendment". Harvard Law Review. 10 December 2021. Until well into the twentieth century, American law recognized blasphemy as proscribable speech. The blackletter rule was clear. Constitutional liberty entailed a right to articulate views on religion, but not a right to commit blasphemy — the offense of "maliciously reviling God", which encompassed "profane ridicule of Christ". The English common law had punished blasphemy as a crime, while excluding "disputes between learned men upon particular controverted points" from the scope of criminal blasphemy. Looking to this precedent, nineteenth-century American appellate courts consistently upheld proscriptions on blasphemy, drawing a line between punishable blasphemy and protected religious speech.

[Nash2007-8] Nash, David (2007). Blasphemy in the Christian World. Oxford University Press. pp. 3–5.

[9] "Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill Information Note: Blasphemy" (PDF). gov.scot.

[10] untries and territories worldwide had blasphemy laws in 2019, Pew Research (25 January 2022)

[pewres-11] Laws Penalizing Blasphemy, Apostasy and Defamation of Religion are Widespread Pew Research (21 November 2012)

[wsj-12] Blasphemy Divide: Insults to Religion Remain a Capital Crime in Muslim Lands The Wall Street Journal (8 January 2015)

[NoBigotry1-13] Why Hinduism never developed a concept of blasphemy, Rediff.com, 4 February 2015.

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