Ireland Votes to Overturn Constitutional Ban on Blasphemy
Ireland has voted to remove a reference to blasphemy as a punishable offense from the country’s constitution, paving the way for repeal of a law that criminalizes public utterances judged offensive to religious sensibilities.
The decision in a referendum on Friday is the latest signal reflecting the country’s weakening adherence to the Catholic Church, which had itself described the constitutional reference as “obsolete.”
Official results Saturday showed 65% of voters backed the removal of the blasphemy reference, a similar level of support given to a May proposal to remove a ban on abortion from the constitution, and a 2015 amendment that allowed for same-sex marriage....