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Blasphemy

Men hold a banner with the text "God will punish us for this BLAPHEMY"!Nowadays the law claims that blasphemy is punishable has been abolished. When one insulted religion a few days ago he or she could still be punished for that. From now on people are allowed to talk about religion and God in any way they want unless it does not provoke or spread hate. I looked at what the pros and cons of this law are and what consequences it will have now that law is gone. Furthermore I think that there is something to say for the advocates of the law as well as the opponents.

The law was inherited in 1932 when a communistic magazine published articles and drawings which made God ridiculous. Due to this magazine the law was introduced. After 1960 not so many people where prosecuted when they profaned God or religion. However after the murder on Theo van Gogh, the former minister of Justice Piet Hein Donner claimed that the law should be taken serious again. The law was not abolished because the last political formations did govern with the CDA or the CU, which are both Christian parties. And these parties did not want this law to disappear.

To be honest, I think the advocates of this law are not in their best mood today, and I do understand that. The law is something that protects all religions to be attacked in a verbal way. It makes our society more protected from people who want to endanger religions. Therefore I think that the law was good in the way that religions and God were protected and that no religion was suppressed.

On the other hand, we live in a different time. The amount of people that go to the church has decreased rapidly within one generation. The abolishment of the law was introduced by the SP (Socialist Party) and the D66 (Democrats '66). The D66 says on their website that they know that there are enough other laws that protect racism, hate, and profanity. They say that a separate law is not needed for God.

To conclude, I think that both sides are true. Luckily for the religious parties there are other laws protecting their rights so that they do not feel unprotected by the law right now. The left wing parties and the D66 are probably satisfied with the decision that has been taken. Which is a fair decision since it has gone through Democracy!



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