Michael Nugent on Irelands Blasphamy Laws

amadain17

Michael Nugent, chairperson Atheist Ireland, and Dr Oliver Scharbrodt, lecturer in Islamic Studies UCC, debate Irish and international blasphemy laws on Today with PK on RTE Radio, hosted by Miriam O'Callaghan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WipER8PQWoI&feature=g-u-u

This silly, embarrassing law must be repealed. FF introduced it in 2010. Shows how backward that party still is.

A

My name is URL

FF didn't introduce blasphemy laws in Ireland. They were required to either affirm or deny that such a law existed under our constitution. The President and council of state are the ones that ultimitely decided that it indeed did constitutionally exist.

Yeah, it's a stupid and outdated law, hopefully it and various other aspects of our constitution will be modernised some day soon.

dvpower

My name is URL wrote: »

Yeah, it's a stupid and outdated law, hopefully it and various other aspects of our constitution will be modernised some day soon.

Its to be considered by the Constitutional Convention

amadain17

within that video Miriam O'Callaghan stated that Michael Nugent is looking for a secular state. Are we not already a secular state?

My name is URL

amadain17 wrote: »

within that video Miriam O'Callaghan stated that Michael Nugent is looking for a secular state. Are we not already a secular state?

I don't think we cold be considered a secular state when the opening line of our constitution is

In the Name of the Most Holy Trinity, from Whom is all authority and to Whom, as our final end, all actions both of men and States must be referred,
We, the people of Éire,
Humbly acknowledging all our obligations to our Divine Lord, Jesus Christ, Who sustained our fathers through centuries of trial,

Solair

amadain17 wrote: »

within that video Miriam O'Callaghan stated that Michael Nugent is looking for a secular state. Are we not already a secular state?

Like most of Europe (except France) and also like the US we are a de facto secular state in most respects, but not all.

The key areas that stand out in Ireland as most definitely not secular are health and education. We have a long way to go on those areas before we have a true public, open, non-religiously biased delivery of essential public services.

We also still have some very odd practices like people insisting on opening with prayer-time at council and parliamentary sessions. That is frankly anything but secular and quite an imposition on anyone who isn't Christian who happens to want to be a public representative.

If it's not an essential part of council/parliament/senate business it shouldn't be done.

How about opening all of those sessions with a non-religious oath of office that requires all members to swear to carry out their role as legislators in the public interest and to refrain from doing anything corrupt?

That would be appropriate and open to everyone!

I think to be honest, Atheist Ireland shouldn't really promote secularism as an Atheist organisation.

We need "Secular Ireland".

Secularism is just about ensuring that the state and religious organizations are separate. As a philosophical point of view, it leaves religious belief up to the the individual and is not anti-religious.

Atheism on the other-hand is taking a point of view that is non-religious.

While Atheist Ireland has a lot of 100% valid points about secularism in Ireland, I think it's perhaps seriously confusing the issue to muddy the waters between secularism and atheism.

It's also giving the vested interests in the establishment religious organizations who want to argue against secularism a hell of a lot of unnecessary ammunition to hurl at secularists, if they can confuse them with atheists.

One can be an atheist or a very religious person and still be a secularist !

Secularism is a political / social organization philosophy not a religious one.

Cee-Jay-Cee

Solair wrote: »

.

How about opening all of those sessions with a non-religious oath of office that requires all members to swear to carry out their role as legislators in the public interest and to refrain from doing anything corrupt?

Probably because it would be ridiculed by all and sundry as a joke. Everyone knows that those in public office are there primarily for their own selfish and greedy financial gain, having to consider the public that voted them in is an inconvenience to the vast majority of them.

wp_rathead

This will clear up Secularism for ye:)

philologos

As an evangelical Christian, I don't think blasphemy laws have any place in society. Admittedly, I'm not a fan of people being obnoxious and rude about other peoples religious beliefs, but I do think that people should have the right to be obnoxious and rude if they want to.

Having said that, I think genuine, reasonable objections to Christianity should be heard and discussed and indeed, I'd be up for discussing them with anybody provided they do so with respect.