British Barrister To Criticize Proposed Religious Hatred Bill

The British online newspaper, Telegraph.co.uk, carried an interesting report of the Margaret Howard Memorial Lecture to be delivered today at Oxford by barrister David Pannick, QC. Pannick will strongly criticize the Religious Hatred bill proposed in the Queen's speech earlier this week (see prior post). Pannick will argue that race and religion should be treated differently. Race, he argues, is an immutable characteristic, but religious belief is voluntarily chosen. He will say: "Unlike racial groups, religions usually make claims about how society should be run. Religious beliefs have a significant impact on the way adherents treat each other and strongly influence how society is organised. Critical comments on religious beliefs may serve a valuable function in identifying and remedying abuse of power." He fears that the new bill will chill speech by novelists, playwrights and comedians who often engage in irreverent criticism.