Impunity for blasphemy: While the British Criminal and Justice and Immigration Act of 2008 abolished blasphemy laws in England and Wales, it took Scotland another 12 years to do so. If Parliament passes the bill, blasphemy in the UK will only be punishable in Northern Ireland.

The Humanist Society Scotland, among others, pushed ahead with the abolition of the blasphemy ban. The organization held rallies and raised awareness among Scottish parliamentarians of how blasphemy bans are used worldwide to limit human rights and persecute minorities. It also launched a petition to abolish the blasphemy ban, which received public support.

Fraser Sutherland, managing director of the Humanist Society Scotland, is pleased with the success: 

"It is clear that the Cabinet Secretary has listened to the evidence and pleas from humanist campaigners and many others that blasphemy laws are incompatible with human rights. Even though Scotland’s law has not been used for some time the message this repeal sends to other leaders around the world is clear and unambiguous – blasphemy laws are wrong and have no place in the twenty-first century.”

Switzerland should follow suit

Before Scotland, Ireland, Norway, Iceland, Malta, France and Denmark have in recent years deleted paragraphs from their penal code that criminalize blasphemy or the violation of religious feelings.

In Switzerland, Article 261 of the Swiss Criminal Code still contains paragraphs that turn criticism of religion into a crime. With their resolution of November 2018, the Freethinkers called on the National Council and the Council of States to cleanse this article. Switzerland would thus make a clear commitment to the right to freedom of expression, including on the subject of religion - and this could also contribute to the fact that states such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran or Russia can no longer justify their anti-freedom laws..

The resolution of the Freethinkers resulted in a motion by National Councilor Beat Flach of the Green Liberal Party. The motion instructs the Federal Council to delete Article 261 (Disruption of freedom of belief and culture) in the Swiss Criminal Code. Article 261bis (racial discrimination) should be adopted as new Article 261 and fully retained. The Federal Council commented on the motion in February 2019 and requested that the motion be rejected. It has not yet been addressed in the Council.