On Friday, voters in Ireland are going to the polls in a referendum to decide whether the offence of blasphemy should be removed from the country’s constitution.

Blasphemy is generally defined as the act of insulting or speaking sacrilegiously about God or other sacred things. In an era where religious freedom and freedom of speech often find themselves coming into conflict, it’s no surprise that blasphemy is back as a point of debate.

While this is seen to be another step on Ireland’s road to modernising its law – and indeed highlighting the separation between church and state – over a quarter of countries around the world are still maintaining and introducing laws prohibiting blasphemy.

Blasphemy laws around the world

A 2017 report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom found 71 countries to have laws which criminalised views deemed to be blasphemous, across all religions.

Blasphemy laws are most common in majority Muslim countries of the Middle East and North Africa, as well as regions of southeast Asia. However, they are also to be found in pockets of the west, such as Poland, Italy, and Ireland.

The punishments for these transgressions vary from fines, to prison sentences, to the death penalty. A 2016 study by the Freedom of Thought report found that 43 countries allow a prison term for blasphemy, while it is punishable by death in six countries: Afghanistan, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Somalia.

Blasphemy was abolished as an offence in England and Wales in 2008, but it remains in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Famous blasphemy cases in recent years

Various high profile blasphemy cases from around the world have drawn international attention in recent years.

When the BBC broadcast Jerry Springer: The Opera on UK television in 2005, they received over 63,000 complaints about the show’s depiction of Christian figures including Jesus – but attempted charges were rejected.

There was global backlash from Muslims in 2005 over the depiction of the Prophet Muhammed as a cartoon in a Danish newspaper. This brought the clash between freedom of speech and freedom of religion to the fore of international debate, and reared its head again with devastating consequences when the staff of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo were murdered in Paris in 2015 by Islamic extremists.

In Denmark in 2017, a man who posted a video of himself burning the Quran on Facebook avoided trial when politicians abolished a centuries-old blasphemy law.

In Indonesia this summer, a Buddhist woman named Meiliana was sentenced to 18 months in prison for complaining about a noisy mosque in 2016 – something which sparked the burning and ransacking of Buddhist temples as a public response at the time.

In Pakistan, a Christian woman called Asia Bibi has been facing execution for six years after allegedly insulting the Prophet Mohammed during a row with other women over water in 2009. She would become the first woman executed under the country’s blasphemy laws.

In August 2018, Pakistan’s new prime minister Imran Khan pledged to revive a campaign to impose global blasphemy laws at the UN. A previous attempt, spearheaded by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, ended in failure in 2011.

Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Show all 55 1 /55 Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis celebrates the Holy Mass at the Phoenix Park, in Dublin AP Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis arrives at Phoenix Park for a Papal Mass of the World Meeting of Families in Dublin EPA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures A vigil takes place at the site of the mass grave which contained the remains of 796 named babies from the Bon Secours Mother and Baby home in Tuam. The vigil coincides with the Phoenix park mass which is taking place in Dublin held by Pope Francis. Excavations at the site in 2017 revealed underground structures which held babies bodies with ages ranging from 35 weeks to three years old with most of the dead buried in the 1950s when the facility was run by the Bon Secours Sisters, a Catholic religious order of nuns who received unmarried pregnant women to give birth Getty Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures An aerial view of the crowd at Phoenix Park Getty Images Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Children queue for communion during Pope Francis' closing Mass PA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures The Stand4Truth rally gathers outside a former Magdalene laundry in Dublin as part of the demonstrations against clerical sex abuse PA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis leads the Holy Mass at Phoenix Park AFP/Getty Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis arrives to celebrate the Holy Mass at the Phoenix Park AP Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures The names of the victims are read out as a vigil takes place at the site of the mass grave which contained the remains of 796 named babies from the Bon Secours Mother and Baby home Getty Images Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis leads the Holy Mass at Phoenix Park AFP/Getty Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures A member of the clergy carries a bowl of incense PA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis celebrates the Holy Mass at the Phoenix Park, in Dublin, Ireland, Sunday, Aug. 26, 2018. Pope Francis is on the second of his two-day visit to Ireland. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) Matt Dunham AP Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures A vigil takes place at the site of the mass grave which contained the remains of 796 named babies Getty Images Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Members of the public pray as they watch Pope Francis deliver a Papal Mass of the World Meeting of Families at Phoenix Park EPA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis attends the closing Mass at the World Meeting of Families at Phoenix Park in Dublin PA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis passes by a banner of a protester as he leaves St Mary's Pro-Cathedral AP Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis speaks during his visit to the Capuchin Day Centre for Homeless in Dublin AP Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis waves to the waiting crowds on Christchurch PA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis waves to the waiting crowds on College Green PA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Members of the public wave at Pope Francis as he travels through the city Getty Images Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pope Francis laughs as he leaves St Mary's Pro Cathedral during his visit to Dublin Reuters Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Two boys wave flags after climbing a post as they wait for Pope Francis Getty Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Pairs of baby shoes are hung from black ribbons on Gardiner Street in Dublin in memory of the children who died at the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, Co Galway PA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures Crowds on O'Connell Street PA Pope Francis visits Ireland – in pictures DUBLIN, IRELAND - AUGUST 25: (NO SALES) In this handout image provided by Maxwell Photography for 2018 WMOF2018, Pope Francis and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar greet a child at Dublin Castle on August 25, 2018 in Dublin, Ireland. Pope Francis is the 266th Catholic Pope and current sovereign of the Vatican. His visit, the first by a Pope since John Paul II's in 1979, is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of Catholics to a series of events in Dublin and Knock. During his visit he will have private meetings with victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy. 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Ireland’s blasphemy law

Ireland’s ban on blasphemy was included in the country’s constitution of 1937, which states that “the publication or utterance of blasphemous, seditious, or indecent matter is an offence which shall be punishable in accordance with law.”

The Defamation Act of 2009 clarified that someone would commit this offence if they publish or utter “matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby causing outrage among a substantial number of the adherents of that religion.”

In 2017, Irish police looked into complaints over comments made by Stephen Fry about God on an RTE interview, but did not pursue the matter. In fact, no one has ever been charged over blasphemy in the history of the Irish state, leading many to view the law as redundant.

The constitution which cemented blasphemy as an offence is often seen as quite an old-fashioned, conservative text, and has been slowly undergoing a process of renewal.

Alterations to the constitution require a referendum, such as those in recent years on same sex marriage and abortion. Friday’s referendum is being held alongside the Irish presidential election, which is one reason why it has not been as discussed as previous votes on social issues.