Editing Blasphemous libel (section)

{{Short description|Former common law criminal offence in England and Wales}}
{{for|an overview of blasphemy laws across the world|blasphemy law}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2009}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
'''Blasphemous libel''' was originally an offence under the [[Common law#History|common law]] of [[England]].  Today, it is an offence under the common law of [[Northern Ireland]], but has been abolished in [[England and Wales]], and repealed in [[Canada]] and [[New Zealand]]. It is a form of [[criminal libel]] that consists of the publication of material which exposes the [[Christianity|Christian]] [[religion]] to scurrility, vilification, ridicule, and contempt, with material that must have the tendency to shock and outrage the feelings of Christians.

Historically, the common law offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel were adopted from the [[English law#Common law|common law of England]] as common law offences in British colonies and territories. From the late 19th century, several colonies and countries replaced the common law offences with adopted versions of the draft code called "the Stephen Code" written by Sir [[James Fitzjames Stephen]] as part of a Royal Commission in England in 1879. The Stephen Code included the offence of blasphemous libel but omitted blasphemy. The common law offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel were abolished in England and Wales with the passage of the [[Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008]]<ref>Beckford, Martin (10 May 2008). [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1942668/Blasphemy-laws-are-lifted.html "Blasphemy laws are lifted"]. The Telegraph.</ref> but the offences remain as part of the common law, criminal code, or criminal statute in various countries, states, territories, and legal jurisdictions.