The crusade against blasphemy laws only goes so far

GK Chesterton observed that “Blasphemy depends on belief, and is fading with it. If anyone doubts this, let him sit down seriously and try to think blasphemous thoughts about Thor.”

And indeed this week began with an orgy of self-congratulation on the part of Irish pundits about the electorate doing away with a reference to blasphemy in the Irish constitution (no one would have turned out to vote, if the presidential election wasn’t happening the same day). What fewer of them mentioned is that the law hadn’t been used since 1855 (unsuccessfully); blasphemy was only defined by law as an offence to any religion (not specifically Christianity) in 2009; and it only really surfaced as an issue a couple of years ago when the frightful Stephen Fry, in an interview with Gay Byrne, declared that if he were to confront God, he’d call him a maniac for causing cancer in children.