Church of England 'accepts end of blasphemy law'
The Church of England has signalled that it is prepared to see the abolition of blasphemy offences after the Government announced a review of the ancient law.
The moves follow a cross-party move by MPs to sweep away legal protections for the Anglican faith, first disclosed in The Daily Telegraph this week....
The principle of blasphemy laws dates back to ancient times, but the present common law offence of "blasphemous libel" is based on 19th century court rulings.
In 1838, it was limited to cover only the "tenets and beliefs of the Church of England".
Yesterday, the Church signalled it could accept abolition. "We are open to the possibility of a review," said a Church spokesman, urging a "cautious" approach.
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)
The moves follow a cross-party move by MPs to sweep away legal protections for the Anglican faith, first disclosed in The Daily Telegraph this week....
The principle of blasphemy laws dates back to ancient times, but the present common law offence of "blasphemous libel" is based on 19th century court rulings.
In 1838, it was limited to cover only the "tenets and beliefs of the Church of England".
Yesterday, the Church signalled it could accept abolition. "We are open to the possibility of a review," said a Church spokesman, urging a "cautious" approach.