Archbishop wants ‘blasphemous’ item removed
Catholic Archbishop Eamon Martin has called on RTE to immediately remove a television clip which he says it is offensive, outrageous, and blasphemous. He was complaining about RTE’s New Year’s Eve Countdown Show, which included a mock news review by Waterford Whispers News. The mock news review reported that a ...
Pakistan still persecuting religious minorities
Pakistan is still persecuting atheists and religious minorities with blasphemy charges, often trumped up because of personal disputes, which can result in life imprisonment or the death penalty. Here are two current examples: an illiterate Christian couple facing death by hanging for allegedly sending a text message, whose appeal has ...
Ireland no longer has a blasphemy law
We start the new decade with the good news that Ireland no longer has the medieval crime of blasphemy in our laws. Over the Christmas period, President Michael D Higgins signed the Blasphemy (Abolition of Offences and Related Matters) Bill 2019, and it has accordingly become law. Atheist Ireland thanks the ...
Freedom of Thought Report 2019 highlights blasphemy laws
It is important that Ireland completes the process of removing the crime of blasphemy from our laws as well as our constitution. The Bill designed to do this is currently at the Office of the Attorney General for formal drafting. A report published today on the human rights of non-religious ...
Speech in Poland – Review of the Campaign Against the Irish Blasphemy Law
Michael Nugent gave this speech today, Friday 29 March 2019, at the Days of Atheism Conference in Warsaw, Poland. When Atheist Ireland was founded ten years ago, our first task was simply to normalise the use of the words atheism and secularism in public debate. We have come a long ...
Blasphemy Repeal Bill 2019 forwarded to Attorney General for formal drafting
The Minister for Justice, Charlie Flanagan, has advised Atheist Ireland that the Bill designed to give legal effect to the outcome of last year’s blasphemy referendum has been forwarded from the Department of Justice to the Office of the Attorney General for formal Drafting. It is called the Repeal of ...
24 victims of blasphemy laws worldwide publish letter asking people Ireland to vote to remove our blasphemy law
24 victims of blasphemy laws around the world have today published this open letter, asking people of Ireland to remove our blasphemy law in the referendum on 26th of October. Thanks to our colleagues in the International Humanist and Ethical Union for coordinating this. To the good people of Ireland, ...
Atheist Ireland welcomes unopposed Blasphemy Referendum vote in Dail
Atheist Ireland welcomes today’s unopposed vote in the Oireachtas to hold a referendum on 26th October to remove the offence of blasphemy from the Irish Constitution. We have been campaigning for a decade to get this referendum called, and we will campaign for the next six weeks for a Yes ...
Atheist Ireland to meet Department of Justice today to discuss new blasphemy repeal bill
Atheist Ireland welcomes the published wording of the proposed amendment of the Constitution on around 25 October to repeal the offence of blasphemy. Atheist Ireland will be meeting this afternoon with officials in the Department of Justice, to clarify any technical or logistical questions that we have. We will then ...
Atheist Ireland welcomes blasphemy referendum in October
Atheist Ireland welcomes the announcement that our decade-long campaign for a referendum on the blasphemy law has been successful. We will finally be able to vote in October to remove this anachronistic, silly, and dangerous clause from our constitution. The blasphemy ban is anachronistic, because we should be removing 1930s ...