Apostasy and Blasphemy laws by country

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This just in from Pew Research - An international overview of apostasy and blasphemy laws:

Relevant wrt. this thread, btw:
http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt260036.html




Source: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/20 ... blasphemy/

While there is an expected overlap between apostasy and blasphemy laws, some countries have specific blasphemy statutes only. Not all are effective enforced, however.

Denmark, for instance, has (as demonstrated above) a blasphemy statute in section 140 of the Danish Penal Code, which punishes "mockery of religious tenets and practices" with fines or imprisonment up to 4 months. However, no one has been convicted under this statute since 1938, and it would likely rapidly be overturned by Parliament if there was any real risk of anyone been convicted in this present day and age.

Furthermore, although the US doesn't appear as one of the countries above, some US states still have blasphemy statutes. Pew Research mentions Michigan and Massachusetts, but last time I checked, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma and South Carolina had similar laws.

However, State blasphemy laws cannot be enforced in the US due to the 1st Amendment. See, for instance: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Bur ... _v._Wilson

Please discuss.

Most blasphemy or apostasy laws in the US are like what the human appendix used to be thought of as: a vestigial entity. They are rarely or never enforced even in the most Bible Belt of states.

Just recently, maybe 5 years ago, an adultery law in New York State was taken off the books. Nobody had been prosecuted on it since g-d knows when. For conviction, two witnesses must have seen the adultery FIRST HAND (i.e., must have seen the sexual intercourse). Adultery was a B Misdemeanor, punishable by up to 3 months in jail.

Apostasy is an Islamic issue. The blasphemy laws seem to be a sort of archaic remnant of colonial rule in Christian majority countries. Britain has become essentially secular and liberal, whereas many of our former colonies have not, particularly in the Caribbean and Africa.

Blasphemy laws are barbaric. If I want to say that God smells of wee, I should be damn well able to say so. Whether it is a Christian God, Islamic Allah, or Judaism's G-d.

I was surprised to see that enlightened European countries like Germany and Denmark have those idiot laws (though I did read the statement qualifying such law in Denmark).