Akansha Sethi
ABSTRACT
Since the dawn of time, profanity against things sacred, or sacrilege, has been punished with the most severe of punishments. This is also known as “Blasphemy”. In the Bible, Leviticus 24-16 says “Blasphemeth” the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death and all the congregation shall certainly stone him”. The Bible provided for the punishment of the blasphemy by death by stoning. In ancient Greece, the punishment for blasphemy was even provided in the Greek Penal Code, Article 198 which stated that anyone who publicly and maliciously blasphemes the name of the God shall be punished with imprisonment of two years. So, it is evident that the offense of blasphemy was considered a grave offense. In this research I talk about blasphemy in relation to criticism of the sacred based on logic and reason. Further, I have tried to explain the connection between blasphemy and freedom of speech and expression , and to what extent can the critique of anything sacred be considered as blasphemous and so blasphemous that it restricts a persons right to freedom of speech and expression. I have avoided the use of blasphemy in terms of utter disregard or defamation or sacred things or religion in general. Moreover, this research also aims to identify the role of blasphemous laws in the contemporary times and whether there is an actual need for them or not.
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