Saako uskonnolla vitsailla?

Englannissa on tulossa voimaan laki (Racial and Religious Hatred Bill), jonka pelätään kriminalisoivan uskonnolla/uskonnolle vitsailevat vitsit.

Vastavetona Ship of Fools, uskonnollinen Private Eye(?), järjestää kilpailun, jolla etsitään loukkaavinta uskonnollista vitsiä!

We’re looking for, and intend to analyse at depth, the funniest and most offensive jokes on God’s beautiful earth. Seriously. In its unscientific but authoritative way, we hope the contest will reveal what religious humour makes us laugh, and what gets us lighting bonfire.

Kyseessä ei ole siis mikään uskonnollisen äärioikeiston äänenkannattaja, vaan uskonnon kohtuullisen rennoin rantein ottava julkaisu.

"We're here for people who prefer disorganized religion to the organized kind," says ship-of-fools.com editor Simon Jenkins. "From a position of commitment, we try to look objectively at religious trends in an accessible rather than cynical way. We commend as well as debunk. But we are not a campaign, we're a conversation."

Ridiculing religious beliefs, criticising religious practices and offending religious people is surely a mission from God. Not in all cases, necessarily, but certainly in some. It's not a freedom so much as a responsibility.

Mutta on lehdellä vakavampikin syy vastustaa uutta lakia:

The bill, which passed its Second Reading by 302 votes to 247 at the end of June, seeks to outlaw remarks and publications considered likely to stir up hatred against a religious group. It represents the Government's third attempt to legislate on the issue since 2001. On the previous two occasions it was forced to shelve proposals in the face of strong opposition in both the House of Commons and House of Lords.

In line with the existing offence of stirring up racial hatred, the new religious hatred legislation would apply to threatening, abusive or insulting words, behaviour or written material. Several religious and mainstream organisations oppose the bill – because it potentially threatens free debate and criticism of all faith positions.

The really confusing thing about the proposed law is that if "material that is threatening, abusive or insulting" to religious groups is outlawed, then both the Bible and the Qu'ran will be technically illegal. Both denounce false, wicked and foolish religion in the strongest terms, and have proved only too capable of stirring up religious hatred. The law that is supposed to protect religion could make it criminal.

Ship of Fools ei vastusta lakia, jotta saisi irvailla muille uskonnoille, vaan haluaa jatkaa kristinuskolle nauramista, ja mielestäni ihan hyvästä syystä...

Ship of Fools has never had much interest in mocking other religions. If truth be told, we're a bit blinkered and don't know enough about them. But to mock the excesses of our own, that's what we were put on earth to do. When Christianity gets dangerous, irrational, nasty, or just plain nuts, then insulting and abusing it is not just a pleasure, but more a profound calling.

Eiköhän tämä aiempi kirjoitukseni osoita Ship of Foolsin olevan oikeassa... Amen!