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News

News: December 2001 / January 2002

British government bans criticism of religion • Jazz Philosopher Releases CD • Reid Scholars Woven Together • Gentle Jürgen says Give Peace a Chance

Bye bye free speech?

Have you heard the one about the vicar, the priest and the rabbi? Well, don’t tell anyone. The comedian Rowan Atkinson (Mr Bean) wrote to the Times to warn that a new law will effectively outlaw religious jokes. In the wake of September 11, British Home Secretary David Blunkett introduced legislation to ban incitement to religious hatred. The hastily-drafted law is closely modelled on existing laws against racial hatred, but critics claim it fails to distinguish between incitement and legitimate criticism. Professor Richard Dawkins commented to Philosophy Now that “Individuals have political opinions, artistic opinions, musical opinions, sporting opinions and religious opinions.

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