Leicester’s need for civilised discourse on religion and belief
Leicester’s need for civilised discourse on religion and belief A criminal prosecution was recently brought by Leicester’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) against a man who publicly demonstrated his opposition to religion by ripping up a Koran in public and throwing it to the ground. The case ended with a hung jury and a decision by the CPS not to pursue it further. The failure of the jury to reach a verdict reveals a problem with the law. Tearing up a holy book is not an effective way to take issue with religion but the right to free expression valued by jury members is so fundamental to our way of life that it must be protected even when its exercise involves bad taste or insult. Many religions take it on themselves to seek to persuade people of other religions or of no religion to convert. Dire consequences of failing to believe in this or that god are often cited in these attempts. Likewise, atheists sometimes seek to e...