Can someone tell me why did it take so long before.....?

Question

Britain could abolish blasphemy laws? Until July it was a criminal offence for Brits to speak or publish any contemptuous, reviling, scurrilous or ludicrous words relating to God, Jesus Christ or the Bible. But we are always told that this is a civilised nation. Why>

Answer 1

Laws, any law at all, is designed to control behaviour. Some, like the laws against murder for personal gain, are generally universally accepted. No one wants to get murdered in their bed for their VCR or car. And when it happens we want those bad dudes to get theirs.

Blasphemy laws were also intended to control people – to control their beliefs and their behaviour. People’s belief systems change. Circumstances change the way we think. Right now we cannot feed the population of the world. Religion said to go forth and procreate. Logic and the problem of feeding and housing all the billions are beginning to make a mockery of that particular belief. I personally think it was designed for the times it was written – thousands of years and many millions of people ago. So we rearrange the laws and make Abortion and birth control laws. People hang on to the old ways and fight it, others think it is the answer to a universal problem.  Somewhere there is a middle ground but people being people, it will take decades to find a definitive and non offensive way of dealing with it.

Blasphemy is the same in many respects. When the majority were all of one mind on the subject, it made sense to them to make the minority mind. Now though, people are much more mobile, a situation that introduces us to different ways of doing things and thinking about them. Science is changing our collective thinking and for many it will become their new religion. The fact is, there is no one religion anywhere anymore. A country may be predominantly Christian or Muslim but in the free world at least, it is a mixture of all of them. Science and logic are making a mockery of a lot of their man made laws. For example – women have brains and can use them! Blacks have brains and can use them! Both women and blacks still have a long way to go to convince everyone but we are getting there. And there are laws that are helping us – not enough but there will be more. 2000 years from now, if the human race is still here, those laws may seem as out dated as the Blasphemy laws seem now.

Using words that one group view as religious words to express anger or disgust, are just words to someone from outside that group. But there will be those who hang on to the bitter end. Might as well get used to it and let it roll off or you will be in a lot of silly fist fights. Over a few words that are in fact nothing more than sounds. Grrrr is a sound too. Had it been used in the Bible or Koran or Torah it would probably be considered blasphemy. Silly! Definitely not 21st Century thinking.

Blasphemy laws in a mixed society are not logical, a total waste of time and our various judicial systems have far more important issues to work on. Mostly, in a mixed society they do not work! Fact is, you can write any law you want to, control my behaviour and my speech but you have no control over what I think.

You are right – the Brits could have abolished those laws. I rather think the Afrikaner, who uses religion to justify a lot of his past behaviours, would have brought them back. If they are gone now, rejoice in their passing.

Answer 2

My ANSWER= thats because this is how our world is.

Answer 3

I think it is because the majority of Brits are not Christians anymore, there are a lot of Muslims, Hindi's etc that are British citizens now.