Freedom of Expression

In 2018, the Irish people voted by referendum to remove the offence of blasphemy from our constitution. Atheist Ireland led the Yes campaign in the referendum, which we had campaigned for since we were founded in 2008.

Here are some video highlights of our ten-year campaign, followed by links to key articles on this website about the campaign.
https://blasphemy.ie

Atheist Ireland also opposes all laws against blasphemy or against criticism of secular beliefs, and promotes the rights of all persons to freedom of expression and manifestations of religion or belief, regardless of the critical nature of the opinion, idea, doctrine or belief or whether that expression shocks, offends or disturbs others, so long as it does not cross the threshold of incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence.

Specifically, we campaign to:

Abolish all laws against blasphemy or criticism of philosophical beliefs,
Use the phrase ‘prejudice’ instead of ‘hatred’,
Tackle prejudice based on religion or belief through education,
Tackle prejudice-motivated crime through the law, while protecting the right to freedom of expression, based on human rights principles and standards.

We oppose blasphemy laws, and campaign to protect free expression, and tackle prejudice through education and law, while upholding human rights and opposing incitement to discrimination or violence.