Blasphemy Act 1698

Blasphemy Act 1698

The Blasphemy Act 1698 (which applied to England and Wales) declared it illegal for any person, educated in or having made profession of the Christian religion, by writing, preaching, teaching or advised speaking, to state the following:

* a denial that the members of the Holy Trinity were God.
* an assertion that there is more than one god.
* a denial of the truth of the Christian religion to be true.
* a denial of the Holy Scriptures to be of divine authority.

The first offence resulted in being rendered incapable of holding any office or place of trust. The second offense resulted in being rendered incapable of bringing any action, of being guardian or executor, or of taking a legacy or deed of gift, and three years imprisonment without bail.

The act was directed against apostates at the beginning of the deist movement in England, particularly after the 1696 publication of John Toland's book "Christianity Not Mysterious".

It was rarely applied: an excessively short statute of limitations allowed for a very short time after the offense for lodging a formal complaint; a similar limitation applied to bringing the case to trial. As a result, existing common law process continued to be the first line against heterodoxy in England.

The act was repealed by the Criminal Law Act 1967.

References

*Webb, R.K. "From Toleration to Religious Liberty" "Liberty Secured? Britain before and after 1688" Edited by J.R. Jones (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1992) p 162 ISBN 0-8047-1988-8


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