"The State of Denmark": Blasphemy, Freedom of Speech, and Rival Claims to Respect
This article investigates the phenomenon of blasphemy and its relationship to freedom of speech. It does so by focusing on "the state of Denmark" - in particular two significant events that have arisen in Denmark in the last eighteen years. These are the Jyllands-Posten publication of the...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
University of Chicago Press
2023
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| In: |
The journal of religion
Year: 2023, Volume: 103, Issue: 4, Pages: 539-572 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article investigates the phenomenon of blasphemy and its relationship to freedom of speech. It does so by focusing on "the state of Denmark" - in particular two significant events that have arisen in Denmark in the last eighteen years. These are the Jyllands-Posten publication of the Muhammad cartoons in 2005 and the division that emerged between Danish state authorities and the Danish Parliament arising from a Quran burning in Denmark in 2017. What possibly connects these events is the violence to which the 2005 publication of the cartoons gave rise. What definitely connects these events are the competing imperatives that the phenomenon of blasphemy elicits, involving two rival claims to "respect." The article explores these rival claims and shows that although mutual accommodation is often possible between them, the phenomenon of blasphemy is significant insofar as its circumstances can render these rival claims a mutually exclusive choice. The article explores the implications of this phenomenon in terms of the circumstances arising in Denmark. However Denmark's experience has significant implications for other liberal democracies in which freedom of speech is a fundamental value and where issues of blasphemy arise. |
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| ISSN: | 1549-6538 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The journal of religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1086/726459 |