Becoming a Christian broadened my vision and gave me a new perspective on society.

Having seen both sides of the fence, I've noted a general, mis-informed bigotry against religion and Christianity.

There seems to be a pervasive belief that somehow everyone knows what Christianity is, what it stands for etc... but the turth is; today people are far LESS educated about it than previously but far MORE likely to pass judgement, take robert from Glasgow above.

Do you often read Chistians attacking and insulting others? NO, I read this board daily and it doesn't happen, we attack behaviour and beliefs, NOT people. BUT I do read people insulting Christians, i.e "bone-heads" by Ian of Solihull. Imagine, if a Christian used that language on this page, what you would say!

We all bemoan the death of repect in this country but hypocritically "attack and insult" eachother in the name of free-speech.

As a society - what do we actually want?

We have the country we've created.

Nathan, Inverness, UK

"It should not be capable of interpretation as . . . a general licence to attack or insult religious beliefs and believers."
A most thoughtless assertion.
Precisely such a license is the essence of the right of free speech, companion to the traditional and 'reasoned' license, used with appropriate caution, of church authorities to attack and insult non-believers.

Richard, DENVER, COLORADO USA

If you are offended by someone criticising your beliefs, whatever they are, it is because you don't really believe them, and you are afraid of losing them.

Richard, Shropshire,

All I seem to hear about are scurrilous attacks by different religious groups on whatever aspect of society it is that outrages and offends their particular religion. Briefly, that will be, masturbation; homosexuality; women; atheists; secularists; women; music; enjoying oneself; ankles; wrists; faces; women; any other religion; any other race; any other skin colour; democratically elected governments; anybody with the intelligence to realise that religion is utter tripe.

robert, Glasgow, scotland

We should abolish the Blasphemy law precisely because to do so would "carry a significant symbolic charge" .

Owen, banbury, UK

Well, could we then have a law protecting the sensibilities of us atheists as well?

alan, germany,

I already feel sometimes as if Christians are being deliberately trivialized by secularists, and demonized by some parts of the media.

If removing the blasphemy laws signals open season on Christian-bating, won't it make discrimination and worse begin to seem acceptable, because our beliefs and morals deemed to be 'wrong' ?

David, Oxford,

I had to remark on David Abbott Fisher's risible response here...

(quote "...maybe retain a little nominal protection for the religion that is intimately bound up with what once provided the glue that animated and invigorated Western society." unquote)

Since when did bindings and glue ever animate society?...rather they effectively tie society down and gum up the works.

P.Gibbs, London,

Though their day-to-day importance may be small, (they) “nevertheless carry a significant symbolic charge.” Indeed, but to whom?

Undoubtedly this matters a great deal to that small special interest group known as "the Christian churches", but not to the great majority who neither belong to them nor follow them. There can be no justification for retaining a set of archaic laws which only serve the interests of one religious group. As an alternative, consider the mess which would result from trying to extend "blasphemy" protection to all religions - Jews, Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Jains and Jedi (it is apparently claimed to be a religion) etc.. No one could say or publish almost anything without offending one party or another.

It is high time we got these archaic laws off the Statute Books and moved on.

Bob H, Sonning,

To think that there are still laws in force in Britain (and elsewhere) which criminalize speech about fictional supernatural creations of the human imagination. It is another of the absurdities of the human condition.

Tim Carmell, Sanford, ME/USA

It is only bone-heads (ie archbishops) who think there are gods in the real world.
There - that is blasphemy.
Yet of course it is true.

Ian, Solihull, UK

I hope that the blasphemy law is kept, as things will only go from bad to worse and there will be no restraint. Jerry Springer the Opera is a fine example of how bad things are already.

Mrs M.Elward, Bridgend, Glam

As a Christian, I don't object to the abolition of the effectively unused law provided the playing field is truly level i.e. if you can say what you like regardless of the profound offense you give me then I can do likewise. In these politically correct days, it's entirely ok to offend some people but not others. And it's never ok to offend Islam because some nasty beardie might come after you with a gun. Either have real free speech, with no censorship, or maybe retain a little nominal protection for the religion that is intimately bound up with what once provided the glue that animated and invigorated Western society.

david abbott fisher, boston, ma, USA