(March 8, 2014 at 1:24 pm)whateverist Wrote: I see the obvious difference between banning atheism and banning the slandering of religious beliefs has already been pointed out. One could argue that screaming "Mohammed was a pedophile" in some places would be akin to yelling "fire" in a crowded theater, generally not beneficial to public safety.
Slander of religion should be permitted. To do otherwise is to basically turn the clock back on freedom from religion. We need to make the religious understand that their beliefs don't afford them special rights and ways around the rules everyone else must follow. We don't need to make 'slander' illegal to placate violent people. What we need to do is make stricter rules against, and harsher penalties for, religious violence.
