Melanie McDonagh Melanie McDonagh

The crusade against blasphemy laws only goes so far

GK Chesterton observed that “Blasphemy depends on belief, and is fading with it. If anyone doubts this, let him sit down seriously and try to think blasphemous thoughts about Thor.”

And indeed this week began with an orgy of self-congratulation on the part of Irish pundits about the electorate doing away with a reference to blasphemy in the Irish constitution (no one would have turned out to vote, if the presidential election wasn’t happening the same day). What fewer of them mentioned is that the law hadn’t been used since 1855 (unsuccessfully); blasphemy was only defined by law as an offence to any religion (not specifically Christianity) in 2009; and it only really surfaced as an issue a couple of years ago when the frightful Stephen Fry, in an interview with Gay Byrne, declared that if he were to confront God, he’d call him a maniac for causing cancer in children. “What’s all that about?” said our hero.

That was, in fact, the kind of blasphemy law which is fine; practically never used, and expressive merely of respect towards religion. Its removal from the constitution was however a savage little bid by secularists to ram home that Ireland isn’t any longer a Catholic country, but it wasn’t opposed by the Church.

For a very different take on blasphemy, there’s Pakistan. That rather bears out the Chesterton dictum that blasphemy depends on belief, except in the case of Pakistan we’re talking not so much about faith as fanaticism. Well-meaning pundits, such as Kunwar Shahid in yesterday’s Guardian, who declared that “today we can more easily imagine a tolerant and progressive Pakistan of the future”, think differently though. That’s because a Christian woman, Asia Bibi hasn’t actually been hanged for insulting Mohammed; that was the accusation levelled against her in 2009 by Muslim women, fellow farm labourers, when she had the temerity to take a drink from a cup of water she’d brought for them.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in