Northern Ireland Humanists welcomes blasphemy amendment

Alliance MLA and Justice Committee member Connie Egan is tabling an amendment to the Justice Bill that seeks to repeal the common law offence of blasphemy in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland Humanists has long campaigned for a repeal of Northern Ireland’s blasphemy laws and welcomes this news as the first step in the legislative process that will bring Northern Ireland’s laws in line with the rest of the UK. 

Northern Ireland Humanists Coordinator Boyd Sleator commented:

‘This amendment marks a significant and long-overdue step towards ending blasphemy laws in Northern Ireland. Their continued existence sends the wrong message entirely — both at home and internationally. In a modern, plural society, the law should protect people from harm, not shield beliefs from criticism or debate.

‘There is cross-community support for repeal. We are grateful to Connie Egan MLA for tabling this amendment, and look forward to working with MLAs to support this historic reform.’

What are blasphemy laws?

Blasphemy laws criminalise the subjective notion of ‘insulting’ religious sentiments. This stifles not only the right to freedom of expression but the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) itself. FoRB doesn’t only protect those who hold religious beliefs. It protects humanists and atheists to hold and express their beliefs too.

Why do blasphemy laws need to be repealed?

The non-religious and religious minorities fall foul of blasphemy laws for simply expressing what they believe. Their existence, even when unenforced, emboldens extremists and legitimises blasphemy-related harassment. Such laws stifle the open debate necessary in a plural, tolerant society, and signal to repressive states that censorship of and punishment for so-called religious insult are acceptable.

Even so called ‘dead letter laws’ can be reactivated at any time. In Denmark in 2017, blasphemy laws were invoked after 46 years of being unused. In the same year, Humanists UK patron Stephen Fry was investigated for potentially breaking the Republic of Ireland’s blasphemy law which had not been used since it was passed in 2009. In 2020, blasphemy ceased to be a criminal offence in the Republic of Ireland after the public voted overwhelmingly for blasphemy to be removed from the Irish Constitution. 

Northern Ireland is the last part of the UK to still have blasphemy laws. Even though they have not been used for over a century, their very existence is used by repressive states to actively enforce their own blasphemy laws, often with harsh punishments. Mubarak Bala, former President of the Nigerian Humanist Association, who was imprisoned for four-and-a-half years out of a 24 year jail sentence for blasphemy in Nigeria, was told that ‘even the British have blasphemy laws’ as he was arrested. Therefore, even if a law has not recently been used to prosecute an individual, its maintenance on statute books has negative consequences for human rights around the world.

Blasphemy laws were repealed in England and Wales in 2008 and Scotland in 2024, making Northern Ireland the last part of the UK to still have blasphemy laws. 

Northern Ireland Humanists and the road to repeal

In 2019, Northern Ireland Humanists launched its campaign to repeal Northern Ireland’s blasphemy laws, encouraging members to contact their Members of the Legislative Assembly asking them to support the campaign. Almost 1,000 emails were sent. As a result, all the major political parties in Northern Ireland came out in favour of supporting repeal, with only the DUP opposed.

Northern Ireland Humanists worked with Justice Minister Naomi Long to secure repeal of Northern Ireland’s blasphemy laws. In 2021, the Department of Justice had hoped to bring about repeal through a forthcoming Bill. However, for the Bill to go ahead with enough time to be considered by the Assembly, the focus had to be narrowed to reform laws relating to sexual offences and protections for trafficking victims only. This meant that blasphemy was no longer within the scope of the Bill. Movement on the repeal slowed while the Northern Ireland Assembly was on a 24-month hiatus until 2024.

Since the Assembly’s return, Northern Ireland Humanists has continued to meet with MLAs and have written to the Committee for Justice to take steps towards securing the repeal of blasphemy laws and to support any opportunities that arise. This amendment presents such an opportunity.