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That investigation was eventually dropped, but the high-profile nature of the case sparked a public debate over the efficacy of the country's blasphemy laws. In the aftermath of the Fry saga, an alliance of 14 Churches-including the Catholic Church-declared the constitutional clause "largely obsolete" and called for its removal.
Ireland had actually been considering it for several years prior. The country's Constitutional Convention, a 100-member body of citizens and lawmakers established by the government to consult on proposed amendments, had long been debating the blasphemy issue. In 2013, it was called for removing the blasphemy clause and recommended replacing it with a ban on incitement to religious hatred.
Ireland is one of at least 69 countries with laws prohibiting blasphemy, though its penalty is among the weakest and least enforced. That's because for much of the law's existence, "David Kenny, a professor of constitutional law at Trinity College Dublin, told me.
It was only after a man sought a civil suit against the Sunday Independent For the sake of blasphemy, it is a repetition that the Irish Supreme Court formally ruled that "it is impossible to say anything about the offense of blasphemy consists."
This ruling defines a specific definition of the defamation of the state of the art. number of the adherents. "Still, the bar for what has been blasphemy was set high. The law states that if people find true artistic, political, scientific, or academic value in something, it can not be deemed blasphemous.
It's probably for this reason, Kenny said, that the charges against Fry were dropped. "I do not think he did it outrage, and if he did, he would probably have some significant defense. It's a good example of how far you are going.
Elsewhere in the world, blasphemy laws are much harsher. In Pakistan, recently elected prime minister Imran Khan is campaigning this summer on the country's strict blasphemy laws. He also said he wants to revive a campaign for international blasphemy laws at the UN. In 2010, a Pakistani Christian woman known as Asia Bibi was convicted and sentenced to death for allegedly insulting the Prophet Muhammad. She is currently awaiting an appeal.
In Indonesia, a Buddhist woman was sentenced in 2016 to 18 months in prison for complaining about the Muslim call to prayer, which she allegedly described as noisy. And in 2017, the country's blasphemy laws implicated the governor of Jakarta, who was sentenced to two years in prison over the Quran.
