A coalition fighting British rules against blasphemy deliberately broke the law
Thursday by reading and distributing a poem describing a homosexual erotic
fantasy projected onto the life of Jesus.
The protest, designed to sway a government-ordered review of religious speech
rights, was greeted by a counter-demonstration of evangelical Christians who
support the blasphemy laws.
Representatives of the coalition of homosexual, atheist and secularist groups
took turns reading the poem, which sparked the last British prosecution under
blasphemy laws when it was published in the Gay News in 1977.
The poem, "The Love that Dares to Speak its Name," describes a Roman
centurion having sex with the dead body of Jesus, who is himself portrayed as a
homosexual.
The newspaper and its editor, Denis Lemon, were prosecuted and convicted of
blasphemous libel. Lemon was given a nine-month suspended sentence that was
later overturned on appeal.
England's blasphemy regulations are rooted in common law and apply only to
Christian faiths - and specifically, to the doctrine of the established
Anglican Church.
Several writers, artists and two members of parliament joined in the reading,
organized by a group including the British Humanist Association, the National
Secular Society, the Rationalist Press Association and the Gay and Lesbian
Humanist Association.
Keith Wood, director of the National Secular Society, called the blasphemy law
"an infringement on the freedom of expression" and said the poem was
a work of art "seeking to extend the love of Christ to the homosexual
community."
"This is a very harsh law," Wood said.
A spokesman for the coalition, Terry Sanderson, said the poem was "a song
to Christian love, not a condemnation of it."
"Religious tensions are posing a renewed threat to free speech, and
demands to extend blasphemy to other religions could have disastrous
consequences for artists and journalists who will never be sure whether any
comment on religion will result in a court case," he said.
A House of Lords panel is currently reviewing Britain's religious speech laws
and protesters said they hoped to sway the board by showing that blasphemy laws
are out of place in modern society.
But the reading was opposed by the Evangelical Alliance.
"This poem is an expression of religious hatred," a spokesman said.
"It's offensive."
"The last thing we would want to do is have someone denigrating any
religion," he said. "What we object to is something as extreme as
this poem. It's fundamentally wrong."
The Evangelical Alliance plans to take their case to British prosecutors and
want the protesters to be put on trial. There were no arrests made Thursday,
however.
Author objects
The controversy was given a further twist when the poem's author objected to
its use by the anti-blasphemy law coalition. James Kirkup told reporters he
didn't want his work being used for political ends.
"I feel I'm being used and the poem is being used in a way I disapprove
of," Kirkup told The Guardian from his home in the southern European
principality of Andorra. "They are using it for political ends and I
disapprove of all politics and all politicians.
"I don't think it would have any influence at all upon the law. It's a
work of art in its own right," he said.
Kirkup called the protesters "ridiculous" and said blasphemy laws
should simply be ignored.
"Go ahead and do as you please, as most people do these days," he
said.
Officials with the Anglican Church did not return phone calls seeking comment
Thursday.