Irish law makes it illegal to speak blasphemy.

[denem]

Source: CBC

Blasphemy revamped

If you visit Ireland after October, you'd better watch what you say about God.

A blasphemous slip of the tongue could cost you 25,000 euros under revamped legislation that will soon be signed into law.

Blasphemy is an act of challenging or offending a religious belief.

In recent years, western countries such as England have been taking blasphemy laws off the books, or changing their focus so that they cover hate-related crimes in general. Ireland has taken a different approach, updating its legislation but maintaining a focus on religion.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/07/20/f-ireland-blasphemy-law.html

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The Defamation Law makes 'offending religious belief a criminal offence'. "They create a crime where one of the basic elements of the crime is subjective outrage of particular people."

Ireland Criminalizes Blasphemy

(20 July 2009) It does seem bizarre that, in 2009, a modern European nation would seek to shield religious belief from criticism – yet that is what is happening in Ireland right now. In repealing the 1961 Defamation Act, the Irish government sought to expunge the worst excesses of Ireland’s draconian laws restricting free speech, but in the process it has ended up making offending religious belief a criminal offence.

Aside from a €25,000 fine (reduced from the €100,000 originally sought by the government), the new Defamation Act gives the authorities the power to stage raids on publishers: the courts may now issue a warrant authorising the police to enter, using ‘reasonable force’, premises where they have grounds for believing there are copies of ‘blasphemous statements’.http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/7171

[FSogol]

1. Zounds!

:beer:

Actually my favorite blasphemy is: "We want Barabbas!"

[denem]

2. I hope that's Guinness

It's good for you.

[FSogol]

7. Of course.

;-)

[Solly Mack]

3. Flying Jesus H Christ on a trailer hitch

Have they nothing better to do?

[Bluenorthwest]

4. Religion has been good to the Irish, bringing peace and

tolerance and making a nation so wonderful that almost no one has ever left Ireland to come to other countries. Oh. Wait. forget it.

[primavera]

5. I doubt it would pass EU muster

And any national law passed which contradicts EU law is automatically null and void and has to be repealed.

[rurallib]

11. goddammit - the Irish should b able to make their own goddamn laws.

[Deep13]

20. I agree. They should be free from Vatican interference. nt

[billyoc]

6. O'Sharia

[No Elephants]

18. LOL

[McCamy Taylor]

8. Eeks! That should take the wind out of the sails of those who say that only Islam is intolerant.

[Soylent Brice]

9. Holy Jumpin' Jesus on a Pogostick!!!

[rurallib]

12. christ in a cheeto

[Soylent Brice]

32. Mother Mary on Grilled Cheese

[havocmom]

10. Guess my daughter can forget about going

[hedgehog]

13. I can't for the life of me imagine how this law was passed at this

time. The Ryan Report came out a few weeks back and the repercussions have just begun.

[denem]

14. An nnpopular government facing decimation at the polls.

you know ;)

[No Elephants]

23. Yes, it is the wrong time.

The Inquisition's over.

[valerief]

15. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! So does talking about atheism offend religious beliefs? nt

[KansDem]

16. Well, I guess Blasphemite tourists will have to go elsewhere for vacation...(nt)

[htuttle]

17. Reminds me of a little story I once read

An old Irish story tells of a farm woman who set out on the road, walking at a brisk pace.
"Where are you going Maureen?" a neighbor woman asked.
"I'm going to Galway," said Maureen.
"Be careful," the neighbor warned. "You should say, 'I'm going to Galway, God willing.'"
"Stuff and nonsense," said Maureen. "I'm going to Galway and sure that's the whole of the matter."

God thereupon waxed sorely pissed. He turned the poor woman into a frog and deposited her in a swamp
with a few thousand other frogs, and there he left her for seven long, long years.
All she heard or said for those dreary years consisted of "Gribbit! Gribbit! Gribbit!"
and an occasional more classical "Koax, koax, koax!"
Everything she saw was dank and dark, like a scene from Poe, and all she had to eat were flies.
"It's enough to bother a body," she thought mournfully on many a miserable and rainy day.

At the end of seven years, God relented and allowed Maureen to resume a human form.
She immediately climbed out of the swamp, washed her clothes, and hung them on a traditional hickory limb.
When everything was dry, the good woman dressed herself again and started out on the road once more.
"Where are you going, Maureen?" asked another neighbor.
"To Galway," she said, "or back to that damned swamp with the frogs."

[RaleighNCDUer]

25. Great story.

Do you know its origin?

[htuttle]

29. I read it in a book by R.A. Wilson -- Cosmic Trigger 2

He might have just made it up himself. He used to do that sometimes...:)

[Odin2005]

19. Ireland, an Atheist-free zone!

Child-raping priests are allowed, though! :puke:

[redqueen]

27. Oh come on. Child-raping priests are allowed?

So they've now sanctioned it there now, have they? And said it's ok with them?

Christ. :eyes:

[redqueen]

21. This was passed on July 10. Not quite "breaking" is it? (nt)

[Deep13]

22. I'll add Ireland to list of oppressive theocracies I won't be visiting.

I already have Iran, Saudi Arabia and a few others. Too bad too. It sounds like such an interesting place to visit otherwise. But I'm not going anywhere where I have to smile and lie to stay out of jail.

[roguevalley]

39. Ireland is my favorite place to go. You have to understand, there

is always someone who doesn't care. No one will care. The nannies in government can do this but unless you swear in front of a bishop, no one will care.

[trumanh59639]

41. As ridiculous as this law is, I dont think it's fair

To lump Ireland with those nations.

[SkyDaddy7]

24. Well, GOD DAMN!

I guess I will not be going to Ireland anytime soon.

[Tripmann]

26. In all honesty,

Its a bullshit law thats ridiculed by 90%+ of the Irish population. The Irish president is holding meetings to see if this law can even ever be used in the first place. Its ill contrived and ill received, at a time when the church has never had LESS influence on Irish society.

[struggle4progress]

28. See Jackeen's comment in the earlier thread:

Some context
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=214&topic_id=212810&mesg_id=212814

[JonQ]

30. I'm curious, how often has this law actually been used?

Sounds like they had it on the books for a while and just expanded it.

[rd_kent]

31. So, would asking for proof of a god be considered blasphemy?

Challenging the tenets of a religion? Which religion? If someone disagrees with my point of view, is that blasphemy? Guess I will just have to get my Guinness 2nd hand at the store.

[Cronus Protagonist]

33. Well, the Irish are not known for being very bright

QED

[freeplessinseattle]

34. I don't want to start any blasphemous rumours

but I think that we've got a sick sense of humour

(and when I die it will be on DU laughing)

[Festivito]

35. Does publishing a Bible offend an atheist's beliefs?

How about printing a Roman Catholic Bible with Apocrypha offending Protestants' beliefs.

Or, Protestants calling their publication a Bible offending the Roman Catholic beliefs?

Stupid is as stupid does.

[dflprincess]

36. I would like to take this moment to thank my ancestors

for getting on the boat.

[guitar man]

37. But honey, I swear...

all I said was "I want a cold beer" and they locked me up under their damned blasphemy law....now can you just send the bail money?


:rofl:

[JerseygirlCT]

38. Craziness nt

[trumanh59639]

40. Unbelievable

How could Ireland stoop to this level?

[Silent3]

42. Does EU membership have any effect on this?

I thought EU membership conferred some degree of obligation to support freedom of expression. I've only spent a few minutes just now googling the subject, but what I can find quickly is just confusing the issue for me.