ABSTRACT
In this chapter Heawood considers the conflict between freedom of religion and freedom of expression. Citing the protests against the play Behzti, Heawood makes the case for considering this to be a pivotal moment in the redefining of the relationship between freedoms of religion and of expression. It was followed by the media storms surrounding Jerry Springer, The Opera, a production of Marlowe’s Tamburlaine, and Monica Ali’s novel, Brick Lane. Media coverage of these, and other controversies involving the right to free expression, encouraged the perception that ‘religion and free speech had become implacably opposed’. Heawood examines this media polarisation in the context of repeated criticisms of newspapers and broadcasters that, due to economic pressures, complex news stories are simplified and under-researched.
Heawood nonetheless acknowledges that there may be an underlying tension between religion and free speech. He illustrates this tension by giving an analysis of blasphemy law, culminating in its repeal in 2008. The 2006 Racial and Religious Hatred Act, however, replaced much of the work of the law of blasphemy but with the emphasis now ‘on people who have been offended by a particular speech act’. This shift in emphasis, Heawood argues, reinforces the media narrative that believers and advocates of free speech are at loggerheads. He concludes by arguing that this conflict between two fundamental rights is not as great as it is made to seem. Their commonality lies in the protection they both give from state interference.
