Defamation of Religion and Freedom of Speech

Introduction Human rights are the basic rights we inherit as humans regardless of race, colour, gender, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. These rights protect human dignity and are interdependent. However, in this modern, democratic, rights conscious society we often face conflict between these rights. The fundamental nature of rights means that it becomes immensely difficult to have a balance where all rights can be given the protection they deserve. Exploring one focused area of rights, this chapter will discuss the conflict between freedom of religion and freedom of expression. International law instruments are often not clear on the extent of these two rights and how different societies with different groups and values apply them differently. The volume of attention which freedom of expression gets, being a qualified right, means that right to religion often doesn’t get privileged treatment. Perhaps this is due to different religious faiths, standards, views and perspectives. The dilemma that is faced balancing these two equally important fundamental rights would have been easier if there were universal standards in place to draw the boundaries of these rights. The conflict between Freedom of religion and freedom of expression (hereafter ‘the conflict’) can take many forms. This chapter will analyse the apparent conflict between published content that gives offence to religious sentiments, defames a religion and is potentially blasphemous to the religion, it will also consider how this has impact on religious tourists travelling to the UK and other European countries