Part I: Background – theoretical reflections and historical discussions. 1. Blasphemies compared: An overview / Anne Stensvold -- 2. The sacred and the secular / Oliver Roy -- 3. Destruction. Distortion. Distraction. Three theoretical perspectives on blasphemy / Jane Skjoldi -- 4. Blasphemy as transgressive speech, a natural history / Gabriel Levy -- 5. Defining blasphemy in medieval Europe: Christian theology, law, and practice / Martha G. Newman -- 6. Blasphemy through British (post) colonial eyes. The Indian Criminal Code: from a history of sustained paternalism to the genesis of hate crime / David Nash -- 7. From ‘blasphemy’ to ‘hate speech’: changing perceptions of ‘insulting god’ / Jeffery Haynes -- Blasphemy in Islamic tradition / Christian Moe -- 9. The OIC and the United Nations: framing blasphemy as a human rights violation / Heini I Skorini. Part II: Case studies. 10. Blasphemy and the cultivation of religious sensibilities in post-2011 Egypt / Monika Lindbekk and Bassam Bahgat -- 11. The Hindus on trial. Blasphemy charges and the study of Hinduism / Clemens Cavallin -- 12. How blasphemy became an anachronism. Free thought and the media market in late nineteenth-century Scandinavia / Dirk Johannsen -- 13. The state and the construction of the ‘blasphemer’ in Bangladesh / Mubashar Hasan; Arlid Engelsen Ruud -- 14. The politics of blasphemy in Indonesia / Cecilie Endresen and Carool Kersten -- 15. Buddha, monks and the minor role of blasphemy within the economy of indignation in Sri Lanka / Michael Hertzberg -- 16. Blasphemy and images: depiction and representation in Islamic texts and practices. Two Muslim cases / Ingvild Flaskerud -- 17. From Pussy Riot’s punk-prayer to Matilda: orthodox believers, critique and religious freedom in Russia / Dmitry Uzlaner; Kristina Stoeckl -- Concluding remarks / Anne Stensvold.
Summary:
"This volume examines both historical developments and contemporary expressions of blasphemy across the world. The transgression of religious boundaries incurs more or less severe sanctions in various religious traditions. This book looks at how religious and political authorities use ideas about blasphemy as a means of control. In a globalised world where people of different faiths interact more than ever before and world-views are an increasingly important part of identity politics, religious boundaries is a source of controversy. The book goes beyond many others in this field by widening its scope beyond the legal aspects of freedom of expression. Approaching blasphemy as effective speech, the chapters in this book focus on real life situations and ask: who are the blasphemers; who are their accusers and what does blasphemy accomplish? Utilising case studies from Europe, the Middle East and Asia that encompass a wide variety of faith traditions, the book guides readers to a more nuanced appreciation of the historical roots, political implications and religious rationale of attitudes towards blasphemy. Incorporating historical and contemporary approaches to blasphemy, this book will be of great use to academics in Religious Studies and the Sociology of Religion as well as Political Science, Media Studies, History"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.