Offences against Religion and Public Worship

Current project status

• Initiation: Could include discussing scope and terms of reference with lead Government Department
• Pre-consultation: Could include approaching interest groups and specialists, producing scoping and issues papers, finalising terms of project
• Consultation: Likely to include consultation events and paper, making provisional proposals for comment
• Policy development: Will include analysis of consultation responses. Could include further issues papers and consultation on draft Bill
• Reported: Usually recommendations for law reform but can be advice to government, scoping report or other recommendations

Complete

We published a report on Offences against Religion and Public Worship (LC145) in 1985.

The principal recommendation of this report made its way on to the statute book after 23 years. The repeal of blasphemy and blasphemous libel, as recommended, was effected by section 79 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, which came into force on 8 July 2008.