Lords vote to retain blasphemy law
The House of Lords reverted to type last night when they voted by 153 to 113 to retain Britain’s archaic Blasphemy Law. Last month they almost rebranded themselves as a progressive voice of sanity by voting overwhelmingly to amend the Incitement to Religious Hatred Bill. Sad to see them returning to their role as preposterous anachronisms.
The Blasphemy Law exists only to protect the tenets and beliefs of the Church of England.
The blasphemy law is pretty pointless these days anyway, as any succesful prosecution under it would be thrown out by the European court of human rights.
I’m sure that the house of lord’s knows this, and this is just to do a bit of arse-kissing to the C of E.
The Commons suck up to the MCB while the Lords suck up to the C of E.
I suspect there’s a bit of the Establishment here, too. A law to protect the sensibilities and sensitivities of Muslims is perhaps just not part of what old Blighty is about in many of their minds, doncha know? But the old blasphemy law, well, old chap, you just have to keep it, don’t you? What would Aunt Matilda say if I voted against the bally thing?
Retaining the powers of relegious zealots to have people prosecuted for saying anything they disagree with is completly out of step with our modern democratic society.
shame on this idiots!
My, who would have thought a body made partitially up of senior members of the CoE would vote to keep their protection!
As I recall, because of the wierd historical links of the blasphemy law to the concept of treason you can’t be guilty unless in some way you manage to suggest deposing the monarch (as head of the C of E) in the process of poking fun at the Anglican version of Christianity’s big daddy figure. I doubt if anyone has a wierd enough mind to come up with a religious insult to fit that bill.
On the other hand, talking about blasphemy in a more general sense, I’ve always thought that if Christians claim to be trying to live after their god’s example, most bishops are blasphemers just by continuing to draw breath – two-faced mean-spirited money-grubbing bigots are hardly an example of any deity I’d find sane and reasonable!
As I recall, because of the wierd historical links of the blasphemy law to the concept of treason you can’t be guilty unless in some way you manage to suggest deposing the monarch (as head of the C of E) in the process of poking fun at the Anglican version of Christianity’s big daddy figure. I doubt if anyone has a wierd enough mind to come up with a religious insult to fit that bill.
Death to the Queen, and to Hell with the psychotic triune Godhead she represents!
Can’t resist a challenge. 🙂
Aww, c’mon, Ben Elton has come out with better than that! 😉
Perhaps it’s time the unelected Lords went too…….
Interesting article on the NSS website: http://www.secularism.org.uk/governmentpromisesrethinkonrelig.html
Apparantly the Bishop of Oxford actually supported the abolition of the blasphemy laws!
Rare common sense from a Bishop!
[…] After trying to pretend to be all liberal and progressive by voting down the Government’s Incitement to Religious Hatred Bill, The House of Lords has reverted to type by voting to retain Britain’s archaic Blasphemy Law. Posted by Paul in UK (November 13, 2005 at 3:48 pm) […]