![]() ![]() We show that of 28 discrete recommendations, only three resulted in constitutional amendment. To address this blind-spot, we present the first comprehensive account of the political take-up of recommendations for constitutional amendment made by Ireland’s deliberative mini-publics. Little more than cursory reference has been made, however, to the recommendations of Ireland’s deliberative mini-publics that did not gain traction in the constitutional amendment process. Ireland has been to the forefront of the constitutional turn in deliberative democracy, with referendums on same-sex marriage and abortion-held following deliberative mini-publics-attracting global attention. The discussion will also consider what the need for such a campaign in contemporary Ireland can tell us about the role that religion continues to play in the functioning of the Irish state in the twenty-first century. ![]() The chapter will conclude with a brief discussion about the campaign, offering an evaluation of it based on the limited data available. It will also discuss the substance of the message of the campaign and situate it within a broader question of the role of religion in the functioning of the contemporary Irish state. ![]() It will provide details of the campaign itself and will also examine the limited reactions the campaign received. ![]() The chapter will then proceed to discuss the Irish manifestation of the ABC which took the form of a poster campaign organised and run by the Humanist Association of Ireland (HAI). Here an overview of the religious composition of the population of Ireland will be provided along with a discussion of the role that religion plays not only in the personal lives of the population but also in the functioning of the Irish state itself. It will begin by discussing the contemporary religious landscape in Ireland in order to provide a context for the discussions that will follow. This chapter will discuss the manifestation of the Atheist Bus Campaign (ABC) in the Republic of Ireland (hereafter referred to as Ireland) which took place in April 2009. The article concludes by examining the extent to which the criminal law continues to protect religious beliefs and believers, contending that while the body of the blasphemy laws is dead, its soul lives on in a plethora of other criminal laws and, more problematically, in non-legal means of control. Second, the article seeks to explore why blasphemy has been abolished now, scrutinizing five developments that led to the abolition. First, the article provides the context by examining what has been lost, analysing the ambit of the offence, focussing on litigation in the twentieth century both in domestic courts and at the European Court of Human Rights. This article examines the implications of the latest change, namely the abolition of the offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel by section 79 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008. 971-986 To download the full text click on the link under the URL heading Recent years have witnessed a considerable growth in legislation and litigation concerning religion. Sandberg, Russell and Doe, Christopher Norman 2008. ![]()
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