The Journal of Human Rights

The Journal of Human Rights

Freedom of Expression and Religious insults: European Human Rights System: European Human Rights System

Document Type : Review Article

Authors
Roohollah Rahami 1
fateme Mohseni Jayhani 2
1 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
2 Master of Human Rights, Faculty of Law, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.
10.22096/hr.2023.1972627.1531
Abstract
In the past two decades, Europe has had numerous conflicts resulting from the clash between freedom of expression and religious insults. The European legal system considers freedom of expression as one of the fundamentals of a democratic society and a basic condition for individual progress and self-actualization. The central approach of the European Court of Human Rights is that freedom of expression includes not only non-insulting statements but also offensive, shocking, or provocative statements. However, this court seeks to resolve the conflict between freedom of expression and blasphemy and create a balance among different interests. On the one hand, under “protecting others’ rights,” the court spoke of banning severely insulting statements that cause significant distress to religious followers. On the other hand, from a societal perspective, the court considered the risk of a public outcry from religious societies due to religious insults. Recently, however, the court gave significant weight to the political, scientific, and artistic aspects of expression when balancing freedom of expression against religious sensitivities, thereby expanding freedom of expression’s scope. Nonetheless, the threat to public order remains a key factor in the court's decisions to restrict statements containing religious insults. This study used a qualitative method based on content analysis with a descriptive-analytical approach and employing library and internet sources.
Keywords
The believers’ religious sentiments
public morals
European Court of Human Rights
blasphemy
hate speech
public order

Subjects

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The Journal of Human Rights
Volume 19, Issue 1 - Serial Number 37
Spring and Summer 2024, Issue 37
July 2024
Pages 229-250