
Offending religious feelings ( pl, Obraza uczuć religijnych) is a
blasphemy law in Poland. According to Article 196 of the
Penal Code
A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...
:
"Whoever offends the religious feelings of other persons by publicly insulting an object of religious worship, or a place designated for public religious ceremonies, is liable to pay a fine, have their liberty limited, or be deprived of their liberty for a period of up to two years."
Constitutionality
A law forbidding blasphemy was included in the original 1932 Polish penal code.
[
The Constitutional Tribunal has ruled that the law is not in conflict with the Constitution of Poland and is not overbroad. The European Court of Human Rights has also allowed other blasphemy laws under margin of appreciation doctrine, as individual countries have broad ability to set moral standards.]
Polish law has no provision which exempts or reduces the scrutiny applied to artistic expression alleged to violate the law, although many artists who have been accused of violating it say that their work should be protected as artistic freedom.[
A separate law, Article 256, criminalizes incitement to hatred based on religious belief.][
]
Cases
The majority of cases in which charges of Article 196 are made do not lead to actual convictions. About 55 prosecutions on average were brought each year between 1999 and 2016. Since Poland is a predominantly Catholic country (around 87% of Poles say they were baptized as Catholics), most Article 196 cases concern that religion.[
In 2000, Polish artist Dorota Nieznalska juxtaposed Greek cross with male genitalia in an artistic exhibition. In 2009 she was finally acquitted after lengthy legal proceedings, due to the court not finding an intent to offend religious feelings.][
]
In 2008, musician Adam Darski
Adam Nergal Darski (born Adam Michał Darski, 10 June 1977), often referred to by his stage name Nergal, is a Polish musician and television personality. He is best known as the frontman of extreme metal band Behemoth.
Career
Nergal was ...
tore up a Bible during a performance, referring to it as "the book of lies". He was acquitted after the performance was deemed not to be sufficiently public, the audience had bought tickets and consented to the performance, and only one audience member complained. After his acquittal, Darski announced his intention to hold "Satanist communion" during performances.
In 2009, singer Dorota Rabczewska ( Doda) referred to the Bible as "something written by individuals high on alcohol and weed". She was convicted and fined. The case ''Rabczewska v. Poland
Dorota Aqualiteja Rabczewska (born 15 February 1984), known professionally as Doda, is a Polish singer-songwriter, actress, film producer, producer, and television personality. A two-time MTV Europe Music Award winner, she is among the most suc ...
'' is currently pending before the European Court of Human Rights.
In 2015, Robert Biedroń
Robert Biedroń (; born 13 April 1976) is a Polish politician, former mayor of Słupsk, and LGBT activist who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019.
Biedroń was a member of the Sejm during its 7th session (2011–2 ...
, mayor of Słupsk, was investigated for removing a portrait of John Paul II from his office after PiS activists reported him for allegedly offending religious feelings.
In 2019, was arrested for displaying a Rainbow Madonna The Rainbow Madonna is an adaptation of the icon of Black Madonna of Częstochowa, with the halos colored in rainbow colors of the LGBT movement. This modification of the painting, created by a civil rights activist Elżbieta Podleśna, is controve ...
adaptation of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa. In July 2020, Podleśna and two other activists were formally charged with offending religious feelings; they pled not guilty. Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights and Amnesty International criticized the use of the law.
In October 2019, Bishop Szymon Niemiec of the United Ecumenical Church
United may refer to:
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was interrogated by police under suspicion of offending religious feelings "by insulting the object of worship in the form of a Roman Catholic Mass"; police had received more than 150 complaints regarding the incident. He had held an ecumenical, LGBT-inclusive religious service in connection with Warsaw's 2019 Equality Parade
Equality Parade ( pl, Parada Równości) is an LGBT community pride parade held in Warsaw since 2001, usually in May or June. It has attracted at least several thousand attendees each year; 20,000 attendees (the largest number of any year prior ...
, which was criticized by the Roman Catholic Episcopal Conference of Poland
The Polish Episcopal Conference or Polish Bishops' Conference ( pl, Konferencja Episkopatu Polski) is the central organ of the Catholic Church in Poland. It is composed of 2 cardinals, 28 archbishops and 118 bishops.
Members
** President – abp ...
and Law and Justice politicians. Niemiec previously held similar services every year since 2010 without controversy. Niemiec and Julia Maciocha, president of the committee which organizes Equality Parade, stated that the complaint against Niemiec violates the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion.
Calls to toughen the law
In 2022 United Poland called for tougher blasphemy laws in Poland, such as three-year jail terms for insulting church or interrupting mass.
In October 2022, they submitted a citizens' legislative initiative for the tougher blasphemy laws with close to 400,000 signatures to parliament.
Repeal attempts
The law is controversial in Poland. Lawyers have noted that it is excessively vague, not stating what actions count as "offending religious feelings", leading some to call for repeal of the law. Opponents of the law say that it has a chilling effect on legitimate free speech and criticism of religion.[ It has been criticized for violating free speech by human rights watchdogs such as Article 19,] Human Rights Watch, Freedom House
Freedom House is a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, and Wendell Wil ...
, End Blasphemy Laws
Humanists International (known as the International Humanist and Ethical Union, or IHEU, from 1952–2019) is an international non-governmental organisation championing secularism and human rights, motivated by secular humanism, secular huma ...
, and Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
. The Council of Europe
The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...
's Recommendation 1805
Recommendation may refer to:
* European Union recommendation, in international law
* Letter of recommendation, in employment or academia
* W3C recommendation, in Internet contexts
* A computer-generated recommendation created by a recommender sys ...
urges member states to repeal blasphemy laws. Anne Ramberg
Anne-Christine Ramberg (born 26 August 1952) is a Swedish lawyer and since 2000 the general secretary for the Swedish Bar Association (''Sveriges advokatsamfund''). She is the first woman to hold this position.
Biography
Ramberg is the daughter ...
and Michael Kirby of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute stated that the law was overbroad, conflicting with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and was used unfairly to target LGBT rights advocates.
In 2019, MP of Modern
Modern may refer to:
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*** 18th century
*** 19th century
*** 20th century
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* Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century
Phil ...
submitted legislation that would have abolished the offense. Referencing Podleśna's arrest, he said that Article 196 "has become a political tool today" and was an "oppressive article that has repeatedly limited creative freedom". Robert Biedroń
Robert Biedroń (; born 13 April 1976) is a Polish politician, former mayor of Słupsk, and LGBT activist who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019.
Biedroń was a member of the Sejm during its 7th session (2011–2 ...
, leader of Spring
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* Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy
* Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water
* Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...
, said that his party aims to repeal the offense if elected. Biedroń added that the law and arrest of Podleśna made Poland internationally "famous for the idiotic attitude of today's rulers who go after artists and those who enjoy freedom of speech".
See also
* Censorship by religion
* Profaning a monument
Profaning a monument ( pl, Znieważenie pomnika), also translated as insulting a monument, is criminalized by Article 261 of the Criminal Code (Poland), Criminal Code of Poland, punishable by a fine or restriction of liberty. The law makes no dist ...
References
External links
Text of the law
(1999–2016)
{{LGBT in Poland
Blasphemy law in Europe
Freedom of expression in Poland
Religion in Poland