Blasphemy laws unreasonably infringe freedom of speech

Another questioner pointed out that we don't have laws protecting unicorns, fairies etc.

In response to questions, Burnside supported penalising those who insulted God and his prophets and observed that there was a distinct undercurrent of Islamophobia in discourse in Australia; he also drew a parallel between people criticising Mohammed now and those who criticised Moses in 1930s Germany. Most criticism of religion was levelled against Islam.

Particularly as much of the debate turned on the taking of offence, perhaps with an element of competition in that regard, I may say that I take offence at these remarks, which I think are unfair on those who would criticise Islam. The term Islamophobia suggests a parallel with homophobia: "it ain't natural; it's plain wrong; it's against God's law; it threatens my (heterosexual) marriage and-the very witty and compelling argument-it's Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve." Not all comment on Islam is at this level. Nor must criticism of Mohammed be equivalent to German actions of the 1930s. Such suggestions are indeed offensive. Some may find them intimidating. I also wonder about the amount of criticism of Islam vs of other religions: it's not hard to find critiques of Catholicism, the pope and the Catholic Church.

According to the IQ² Oz website, the laws of most Australian states and territories continue to prohibit blasphemy. "For example, in NSW a person may still be prosecuted for the common law offence of blasphemy if their purpose is to engage in 'scoffing or reviling'. Put simply, citizens may not mock or insult God or the Prophets."

Our present freedoms, such as they are, are hard-won. If you want martyrs for freedom of speech under Western law, you don't have to go very far back in history. The offence of insulting God chalked up the teenager Thomas Aikenhead, hanged in Britain in 1696, and Jean-François de la Barre in France in 1766. The common-law prohibition of blasphemy is an anachronism, dormant since the nineteenth century but still on the books as a threat.

The IQ² debate serves to clarify the issues. Let's avoid the need to draw-or fabricate-a distinction between acceptable criticism and unacceptable insult. Let's acknowledge that there no necessary progression from insult to hatred to violence sufficient to justify outlawing insult. Let us not run an offendedness competition or base law on a supposed right not to be offended. Let's abolish blasphemy law.

If the audience vote on the debate is anything to go by, there is public support. Before the debate the vote was 24% undecided, 18% for, 58% against. After the debate: 13% undecided, 22% for, 65% against the motion that God and his prophets should be protected from insult.

Postscript, on honour of Human Rights Day, which occurs in December: religions don't have human rights. Humans have human rights.