Ireland’s prohibition on blasphemy goes up for vote

In 1702, Thomas Emlyn, a Unitarian minister living in Dublin published a book questioning whether Jesus Christ was equal to God. The radical treatise, entitled “An Humble Inquiry into the Scripture Account of Jesus Christ” caused much outrage, and the next year Emlyn was charged with blasphemy and sentenced to a year in prison. Emlyn remains the last known blasphemy conviction in what is now modern-day Ireland. But more than 300 years later, blasphemy is still prohibited under Irish law.

On Friday Ireland will vote on whether that should change in the latest effort to move it away from its strongly conservative Catholic background to a more secular social agenda.

Under Ireland’s 1937 Constitution and the Defamation Act of 2009, blasphemy is illegal and punishable by a fine of up to 25,000 euros, or just over $28,000. The law bars “publishing or uttering matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters sacred by any religion, thereby intentionally causing outrage among a substantial number of adherents of that religion.” And the Irish Constitution states that “the publication or utterance of blasphemous, seditious, or indecent matter is an offense which shall be punishable in accordance with law.”

The country is majority-Catholic, but the influence of the Catholic church on its policies is waning. In 2015, Ireland became the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage. In May, Ireland voted by a landslide to repeal its abortion ban.