02/2012
February 2012
Paul Marshall
Senior Fellow
Hudson Institute
Blasphemy and Free Speech
PAUL MARSHALL is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom. He has published widely in newspapers and magazines, including the
New York Times, the
Wall Street Journal, the
Washington Post,
First Things, The New Republic, and
The Weekly Standard. He is the author or editor of more than 20 books on religion and politics, including
Their Blood Cries Out, Religious Freedom in the World, and
Blind Spot: When Journalists Don’t Get Religion. Most recently he is the co-author, with Nina Shea, of
Silenced: How Apostasy and Blasphemy Codes are Choking Freedom Worldwide.
The following is adapted from a lecture delivered at Hillsdale College’s Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship in Washington, D.C., on February 3, 2012.
A growing threat to our freedom of speech is the attempt to stifle religious discussion in the name of preventing “defamation of” or “insults to” religion, especially Islam. Resulting restrictions represent, in effect, a revival of blasphemy laws.