Editing Blasphemy (section)

===Purpose of blasphemy laws===

In some states, blasphemy laws are used to impose the religious beliefs of a majority, while in other countries, they are justified as putatively offering protection of the religious beliefs of minorities.<ref name=IceNews/><ref name="Scolnicov2010">{{cite book|last=Scolnicov|first=Anat|title=The Right to Religious Freedom in International Law: Between Group Rights and Individual Rights|date=18 October 2010|publisher=Routledge|language=en|isbn=978-1-136-90705-0|page=261|quote=A different argument for the retention of the offence of blasphemy (and for its extension to the protection of all religions in the UK [the offence protected only the majority religion]) has been offered by Parekh: a majority religion does not need the protection offered by an offence of blasphemy, but minority religions do because of their vulnerability in the face of the majority.}}</ref><ref name="The Copenhagen Post">{{cite news|url=http://cphpost.dk/news14/national-news14/danes-overwhelmingly-support-their-own-blasphemy-law.html|title=Danes overwhelmingly support their own blasphemy law|date=21 September 2012|newspaper=[[The Copenhagen Post]]|language=en|access-date=17 May 2016|quote=Denmark's own blasphemy law makes it an offence to "mock legal religions and faiths in Denmark", and according to a study carried out on behalf of the liberal think-tank CEPOS, 66 per cent of the 1,000 Danes questioned answered that the law should not be repealed.}}</ref> Where blasphemy is banned, it can be either some laws which directly punish religious blasphemy,<ref>See [[Blasphemy law]]</ref> or some laws that allow those who are offended by blasphemy to punish blasphemers. Those laws may condone penalties or retaliation for blasphemy under the labels of [[blasphemous libel]],<ref>{{cite web  | last = Kerr  | first = ine  | title = Libel and blasphemy bill passed by the Dail  |work=The Irish Independent  | date = 9 July 2009  | url = http://www.independent.ie/national-news/libel-and-blasphemy-bill-passed-by-the-dail-1813479.html  | access-date = 17 November 2009}}</ref> expression of opposition, or "vilification," of religion or of some religious practices,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/qld/consol_act/aa1991204/s124a.html |title=Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 – Sect 124A: Vilification on grounds of race, religion, sexuality or gender identity unlawful |publisher=Austlii.edu.au |access-date=10 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.police.vic.gov.au/content.asp?document_id=23370 |title=Victoria Police – Racial and religious vilification |publisher=Police.vic.gov.au |access-date=10 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927090124/http://www.police.vic.gov.au/content.asp?document_id=23370 |archive-date=27 September 2011}}</ref> religious insult,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://merlin.obs.coe.int/redirect.php?id=11512 |title=European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission), ''Report on the relationship between freedom of expression and freedom of religion: the issue of regulation and prosecution of blasphemy, religious insult and incitement to religious hatred'', 17–18 October 2008, Doc. No. CDL-AD(2008)026 |publisher=Merlin.obs.coe.int |access-date=10 November 2011 |archive-date=2 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002221825/http://merlin.obs.coe.int/redirect.php?id=11512 }}</ref> or [[hate speech]].<ref>See [[Blasphemy law]] and [[Hate speech]].</ref>