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Blasphemy in Denmark

The law against blasphemy here in the Netherlands was only repealed in 2013.
The last trial was in 1968 though, against writer Gerard Reve, who wrote that God would return to Earth in the shape of a donkey, and the author would then proceed to have sex with Him. He was acquitted.
 
The UK isn't so enlightened in this area.

England/Wales scrapped blasphemy as an offence in ... err ... 2005? Somewhere round there, they hadn't been used for a long time anyway.

Laws still exist is Northern Ireland as far as I know, not sure about Scotland - I think they are still theoretically on the books but not been used for a long time.
 
Ehm.

Being charged and being convicted are two very different things - Denmark might have the law on the books, but it will be very instructive to see how the courts interpret it. The article says that, in effect, no one gets punished anymore under this law.

For me, this is similar to that German comedian being charged for making fun of Erdogan - and getting of scot free. The result was that the law itself that allowed for the charge is now under scrutiny.

This could very well happen in this case, too.
 
We have that law in Denmark. Nobody has been convicted under it for decades. It is discussed regularly to remove it, but currently, it still exists.

It is the duty of the prosecution to raise a case whenever a law might be violated.

Hans
 
Does this law work for any and all imaginary friends or just a specific subset of delusions?
 
I have wanted to do a project where I violate every nation's speech restrictions. The US is hard because I either have to legitimately threaten someone or draw Micky mouse. Europe I figured I would have to stick with Holocaust denial but this really opens the project up.
 
Just to clarify...

Yes, Denmark has a blasphemy law on the books. It has been used a staggering 4 times; In 1938 and 1943 regarding blasphemy of the Jewish religion. Four men were jailed between 20 and 80 days. In 1946 two men were fined for "staging a baptism" and in 1971 charges were filed but no conviction was made. And now in 2017.

Notably in 1997 a burning of a bible was transmitted on national TV without the blasphemy law being used. ETA: The drawings of Mohammad from 2006 did not see the law come into use either.

A government advisory on the penal code recommended in 2014 that the law should be kept. It is on this recommendation that the latest charge has been filed.

It should be said that the current case could fairly easily be classified as hate speech. The video was posted to a Facebook group called "Yes to freedom - No to Islam".

This latest use of the law has sparked quite a vigorous debate. Our minister for justice is ready to debate the law in parliament. Several political parties want the law removed as do the majority of the population.
 
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The US will probably have a lot like this on the books soon, they'll just frame it / word it as "Hate Speech." The idea that telling religious people they are wrong is bad is well established enough.
 
3point14 said:
Does this law work for any and all imaginary friends or just a specific subset of delusions?
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The law is as follows:

»§ 140. Den, der offentlig driver spot med eller forhåner noget her i landet lovligt bestående religionssamfunds troslærdomme eller gudsdyrkelse, straffes med bøde eller fængsel indtil 4 måneder.«
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It translates to about this:

"He who publicly insults or derides the teachings or worshippings of a lawful religion is subject to punishment by fine or up to 4 months in jail"

A "lawful religion" is referring to article 67 of the danish constitution that is our basis for freedom of religion. The gist is that a "lawful religion" is any religion which doesn't fare against public decency or public peace.

§ 67 Borgerne har ret til at forene sig i samfund for at dyrke Gud på den måde, der stemmer med deres overbevisning, dog at intet læres eller foretages, som strider mod sædeligheden eller den offentlige orden.
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So pretty much anything, yes.
 
BobTheCoward said:
I have wanted to do a project where I violate every nation's speech restrictions. The US is hard because I either have to legitimately threaten someone or draw Micky mouse. Europe I figured I would have to stick with Holocaust denial but this really opens the project up.
Click to expand...

Holocaust denial wouldn't get you far in Europe. AFAIK only Germany has laws against that.
 
3point14 said:
Does this law work for any and all imaginary friends or just a specific subset of delusions?
Click to expand...

Hard to say, since it hasn't led to any convictions for a very long time. In effect it does not seem to work at all. But I would expect it mainly works for recognized religions.

Hans
 
erlando said:
Yes, Denmark has a blasphemy law on the books. It has been used a staggering 4 times. Two times in 1938 and 1943 regarding blasphemy of the Jewish religion...
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??

1943??

Any details on that one?
 
Tolls said:
??

1943??

Any details on that one?
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Sorry, my mistake. I misremembered. The cases are

- 1938: Four men (nazis) are convicted for attacking the jewish faith.
- 1946: Two men are convicted for "staging a baptism" during a carnival in Copenhagen
- 1971: Two executives of the Danish Broadcasting Corporation are charged but not convicted for broadcasting a song with lyrics going against a religious upbringing of children
- 2017: A man is charged for publishing a video of the burning of a Quaran.
 
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That makes a little more sense than someone being brought up for blasphemy of Judaism whilst under Nazi occupation...
:)
 
erlando said:
Holocaust denial wouldn't get you far in Europe. AFAIK only Germany has laws against that.
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I think that since 2015 in Italy one could be theoretically sentenced to up to three years for negationism. As far as blasphemy goes, in vatican backyard you could be fined if the target is a god, but (maybe surprisingly) you can curse saints and Mary since they are not supposed to be gods :D ( in the region I live in, at least half the population would be in jail otherwise ;) )
 
Porpoise of Life said:
The law against blasphemy here in the Netherlands was only repealed in 2013.
The last trial was in 1968 though, against writer Gerard Reve, who wrote that God would return to Earth in the shape of a donkey, and the author would then proceed to have sex with Him. He was acquitted.
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And the fun thing about that repeal was: in 2008, the Minister of Justice, a Christian-Democrat, proposed to re-animate and even widen the existing blasphemy law. Parliament was not amused, and a couple of MPs from secular parties struck back with a bill to repeal it. :)
 
wea said:
I think that since 2015 in Italy one could be theoretically sentenced to up to three years for negationism. As far as blasphemy goes, in vatican backyard you could be fined if the target is a god, but (maybe surprisingly) you can curse saints and Mary since they are not supposed to be gods :D ( in the region I live in, at least half the population would be in jail otherwise ;) )
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There's a law in France as well. It's called "Loi Gayssot": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gayssot_Act
The Gayssot Act or Gayssot Law (French: Loi Gayssot), enacted on 13 July 1990, makes it an offense in France to question the existence or size of the category of crimes against humanity as defined in the London Charter of 1945, on the basis of which Nazi leaders were convicted by the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg in 1945-46 (art.9)...
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I'll see if I can dig up a bible a Quaran and some other religious books and burn them, to see if I'll get charged when I post it on FB.
 
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