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Ireland has probably voted in favor of abolishing the country's constitution of blasphemy as a punishable offense, paving the way for the repeal of a law criminalizing public statements deemed offensive to religious sensitivity.
The decision taken in a referendum on Friday is the latest signal reflecting the weakening of the country's adherence to the Catholic Church, which had itself described the constitutional reference as "obsolete".
According to an exit poll conducted on behalf of the state broadcaster RTE, 71.1% of voters supported the removal of the reference to blasphemy, a larger proportion than the one proposed in May by a proposal to remove the blasphemy. Prohibition of abortion in the constitution, and a 2015 amendment that: allowed for same-sex marriage. Official results will be known later on Saturday.
Many European countries maintain provisions for prosecution and, in some cases, imprisonment for blasphemy offenses. In recent years, prosecutions under blasphemy laws have been used in the defense of Islam and Christianity, although convictions are rare and increasingly viewed as outdated and as a limit to freedom d & # 39; expression.
Blasphemy is not an offense in the United States, given the strong constitutional protection of the nation for freedom of speech.
Although the criminalization of blasphemy in Ireland dates back to the drafting of the 1937 constitution, no one has ever been convicted and few have been investigated. Until 2009, the legal code did not contain a definition of the offense that would have allowed the prosecution.
The referendum was held on the same day as a presidential election in which incumbent President Michael D. Higgins returned with little difficulty, according to the exit poll.
Friday's vote reflects the rise of a better educated and more cosmopolitan generation, shaped by the country's economic boom. The Catholic Church retains a significant presence in the education and health systems, but its influence has faded in recent decades, in part because of a wave of scandals.
Active Laws on Blasphemy in Europe
- Greece: Under Greek law, a person who "publicly and maliciously blasphemes God" or "blasphemy of the Greek Orthodox Church" may be imprisoned for up to two years. According to the Greek statistics service, 254 such cases were brought to court in 2016, making it the most active case of blasphemy in Europe, although conviction rates are low.
- Finland: A person who "publicly blasphemes against God" or disrupts a "religious procedure" may be subject to a pecuniary punishment or imprisonment for up to six months.
- Germany: The country's penal code provides for an offense whereby anyone "publicly or through dissemination of written material defames religion (…) in a manner that may disturb the public peace" may be imprisoned for up to three years.
- Poland: A person may be imprisoned for up to two years if he is found guilty of offending a religious feeling by public defamation of an object or place of worship.
- Italy: the Penal Code provides for a fine of 51 to 309 euros for anyone who "blasphemes in public with invective or outrageous words against the deity".
- Source: The Law Library of Congress, "Blasphemy and Related Laws in Certain Jurisdictions", January 2017.
Other referendums are likely as Ireland reassesses its socially conservative past. In addition to recommending the removal of the blasphemy provision and allowing same-sex marriage, a 2013 Constitutional Convention advocated the removal of a widely heard provision that placed women's special responsibility for the blasphemy. To look after children and home.
Legislators have not yet decided to remove or replace this language. As with the blasphemy vote, it is not clear what immediate practical effect would have a change. But constitutional changes have also become a means of defining a changing Ireland for its people.
"These referendums are of symbolic importance," said David Kenny, an associate professor of law at Trinity College Dublin. "People see them as a way to make a statement about their current situation as a country."
According to a 2017 report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedoms, 71 countries around the world then had laws to punish blasphemy, which it defines as "the act of insulting or to show contempt or disrespect for God ". Of these, 86% of those sentenced to imprisonment for blasphemers are sentenced to death, and some sentenced to death, including Iran and Saudi Arabia.
The European Union regards many of these laws as oppressive and as a violation of the right to freedom of expression. The Irish Government has invoked the legitimacy conferred on oppressive laws elsewhere to justify the removal of this provision from the Irish Constitution.
"Some United Nations countries have cited Irish blasphemy laws to defend their own repressive regimes," justice minister Charlie Flanagan wrote in a tweet.
Some European countries are gradually withdrawing the offense from their criminal codes. While the USCIRF report was being drafted, Denmark and Malta repealed their laws, as a result of similar measures taken by Norway in 2015, the Netherlands in 2012 and the 39, England and Wales in 2008.
More religious countries like Poland and Greece are not supposed to suppress the offense, while some countries, like Germany, see in their laws a way to protect Islam and other religions minority at a time of increased hostility towards immigrants. On Friday, the European Court of Human Rights upheld the verdict handed down in 2011 by an Austrian court sentencing an unnamed woman to a fine for insulting the Prophet Muhammad.
"Although … identifiable trends indicate the removal of restrictions, the absolute disappearance of blasphemy bans on the continent will nonetheless seemingly be a lengthy process, should it ever happen," said Andras Koltay, associate professor of law at Pazmany. Peter Catholic University in Budapest.
Write to Paul Hannon at [email protected]
