blasphemy
blasphemy is open to wide definition, but within the Christian tradition is normally defined as a profane utterance or an impious speech against God or established religion. Blasphemy occasionally troubled the medieval church, but became more common after the Reformation, when a plurality of views coexisted with increased official concern over religious orthodoxy. Perhaps the most celebrated victim of the blasphemy laws was James Nayler, who in 1656 parodied Christ's entry into Jerusalem by riding a donkey into Bristol. He was whipped in both London and Bristol, stood on the pillory, bored through the tongue, branded on the forehead, and kept in Bridewell at Parliament's pleasure. As late as 1832 a bookseller named Eaton was imprisoned and pilloried for attacking the Bible. The 19th cent., however, saw a modification of the law on blasphemy. The key case was Ramsay v. Foote (1883), which established that it was not blasphemous to attack the fundamentals of religion if ‘the decencies of controversy’ were observed. This remains the legal position.
J. A. Sharpe
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blasphemy