Ireland To Hold Referendum On Blasphemy Provision In Constitution

Ireland's Justice Minister announced Sunday that the country will hold a referendum this fall on removing a blasphemy ban from the Constitution. Yesterday's London Guardian reports that the advocacy group Atheist Ireland particularly welcomed the announcement. When Ireland's new more lenient blasphemy law took effect in January, the group responded by publishing on its website 25 blasphemous statements from famous figures in history. (See prior posting.) Currently Ireland's Constitution (Sec. 40) requires that the country have a blasphemy law.