blasphemy

June 28, 2019

Concern over proposed new rules against blasphemy in advertising

The Committee of Advertising Practice is proposing to expand its ban on ‘offensive’ advertising, including adverts deemed religiously offensive, in its two codes.
June 22, 2019

Blasphemy law to be abolished in Greece under new criminal code

The crime of blasphemy will be abolished in Greece from 1 July 2019 under changes to the country’s criminal code, in what is being hailed as a huge step forward for the global campaign to end blasphemy laws.
May 24, 2019

Government announces review into religious persecution and LGBT asylum claims

The Government has commissioned a review into how the Home Office assesses asylum claims on the basis of religious, non-religious, or LGBT asylum.
May 9, 2019

Arrest of woman over Virgin Mary rainbow artwork in Poland condemned

Government officials allege the work is blasphemous and object to its presumed link to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights and gender equality.
November 2, 2018

Violent fundamentalism in Pakistan and the USA

Hardliners are protesting in Pakistan after the conviction for blasphemy of a Christian farm labourer, Asia Bibi, was overturned .
April 20, 2018

Indian journalist charged over allegedly blasphemous cartoon

A journalist in India has been charged with blasphemy and is receiving death threats after drawing a cartoon of two Hindu gods.
September 7, 2016

Russian blogger faces jail for playing Pokémon Go in a church

The detention of a Russian blogger from Yekaterinburg who has been sentenced to administrative arrest for two months after posting a video of himself playing Pokémon Go in a church is a farcical attack on freedom of expression, says Amnesty International.
January 23, 2015

A tug-of-war between our religions and our freedoms?

Religious fidelity and free speech can learn the art of coexistence despite the acerbic challenges that have flowed from the terrible Paris shootings and the arguments about Charlie Hebdo magazine, says Ekklesia associate and Middle East analyst Dr Harry Hagopian. The much harder – and harsher – question is whether we as followers of a religion or as advocates of free speech can coexist too?
November 24, 2014

New report reveals a surge in Indonesian convictions for blasphemy

A new briefing from Amnesty says the Indonesian authorities increasingly make use of a range of oppressive blasphemy laws to imprison individuals for their beliefs.
October 30, 2014

WCC expresses concern over latest in Bibi blasphemy case

The World Council of Churches is deeply concerned about the rejection of an appeal against the blasphemy death sentence for Pakistani Christian woman Asia Bibi.