Source: www.persecution.org
Date: January 10, 2024
Ireland (International Christian Concern) – The Constitution of Ireland protects the right of citizens to freely express their “convictions and opinions” – but what happens when those opinions are disfavored by secular society? A proposed bill before the Irish Parliament would make expressing those beliefs a crime, including beliefs commonly held by Christians worldwide.
The Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022, if passed, would criminalize any speech that incites “hatred or violence” against a protected group. The legislation interprets protected groups to mean an individual or class of people based on certain characteristics such as race, religion, gender, sex characteristics, and sexual orientation. At face value, the Bill sounds virtuous, but in reality, it significantly restricts free speech and is viewed by many as a step toward authoritarianism.
The bill’s absence of a clear definition for speech that meets the ‘hateful’ standard is of greatest concern. The arbitrary threshold leaves room for subjectivity and would afford protected groups the right to accuse anyone of hate speech, so long as they interpreted the speech to be hateful.
For Ireland’s Christian population, the bill would severely limit their expression of many beliefs, including views on biblical marriage. It also threatens the right to share one’s faith or publicly evangelize. Sharing a bible verse, such as Exodus 20:3, which says, “Thou shall have no other Gods before me,” could be interpreted as hate speech by another religious group. If convicted, the accused could face up to five years in prison.
This concerning trend of restricting religious expression can be witnessed all across Europe. The well-known case of Päivi Räsänen, a Finnish member of Parliament and grandmother, underwent a four-year legal battle after being charged with ‘hate speech’ for a bible verse she tweeted.
Other cases, such as John Dunn, a street preacher in the U.K. who was arrested for ‘hate speech,” and Isabel Vaughn-Spruce, who was also arrested in the U.K. for silently praying outside an abortion clinic, bodes ill for the future of religious freedom and speech in western democracies.
Ireland’s Bill has raised concern among U.S. government officials, including Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, who sent a letter to Ireland’s Ambassador to the United States. Vance wrote, “The United States routinely condemns similar censorious conduct from China, Myanmar, or Iran,” and, “I am alarmed that one of our closest friends, a democracy dedicated to upholding cherished freedoms, should undertake such legislation.”
HOW TO PRAY: Pray for free speech to remain a priority in Ireland. Pray for equal rights for all groups in the Western world. Pray for growth within the church in Ireland and across Europe.