Following last week’s protests against the proposed Racial and Religious Hatred Bill by evangelical Christians, another wave of controversy has erupted.
Last week the restrictive Religious Hatred proposals were defeated, with a more defined version passed, that will pose no threat to the freedom of speech of religious leaders. However, in the aftermath of this victory for thousands of campaigners it has emerged that many secular parties that joined the opposition to the Religious Hatred Bill are now also campaigning for the current British blasphemy laws to be scrapped.In reaction to the latest developments, the Chief Executive of Premier Christian Radio, Peter Kerridge said, “It is important that we recognise the difference between blasphemy and religious hatred. As Christians, we believe all religions have the right to freedom of speech, including the right to promote their beliefs if they wish to; this is why we campaigned long and hard against the wording of the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill.
“We wished to ensure that the citizens of this country were free to express their beliefs about religion without fear of prosecution. The Bill that has now become law protects people of all faiths and none and allows them to express openly what they think.”
It has arisen that many believe the current blasphemy law is extremely outdated, in particular since a man has not been sent to prison for blasphemy since John William Gott, who was sentenced to nine months' hard labour for comparing Jesus with a circus clown in 1922.
However, Premier Christian Radio point out that as recent as 1977 a moral campaigner Mary Whitehouse brought a private prosecution against the Gay News for publishing a poem depicting a Roman centurion's love for Christ.In addition, following the new version of the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill being passed in the UK, a wave of Islamic rioting has occurred in protest against a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a terrorist being published in Denmark. This has succeeded in blurring the public’s impression even further of the line between hatred and blasphemy, comment Premier Radio.
Kerridge reported: “The blasphemy law has been around for a long time and is now rarely used in its current form. However, in these sensitive times we feel it is the responsibility of everyone to ensure that what we say and do contributes to dialogue and understanding between people of faith and indeed no faith.
"True freedom of speech does give people the right to speak as they wish but that right comes with responsibility. With freedom of expression comes the responsibility to build peace and harmony. In the final analysis, the litmus test of whether something should be stated is this: is it true, is it helpful?”
