Putting Faith in Hate: When Religion Is the Source or Target of Hate Speech (Cambridge 2018)

Richard Moon
Faculty of Law
University of Windsor

Commentators:
Mohammad Fadel (Law & Religion, University of Toronto)
Anna Korteweg (Sociology, University of Toronto)
Ruth Marshall (Religion & Political Science, University of Toronto)

To allow or restrict hate speech is a hotly debated issue in many societies. While the right to freedom of speech is fundamental to liberal democracies, most countries have accepted that hate speech causes significant harm and ought to be regulated. Richard Moon examines the application of hate speech laws when religion is either the source or target of such speech. Moon describes the various legal restrictions on hate speech, religious insult, and blasphemy in Canada, Europe and elsewhere, and uses cases from different jurisdictions to illustrate the particular challenges raised by religious hate speech. The issues addressed are highly topical: speech that attacks religious communities, specifically anti-Muslim rhetoric, and hateful speech that is based on religious doctrine or scripture, such as anti-gay speech. The book draws on a rich understanding of freedom of expression, the harms of hate speech, and the role of religion in public life.

Wed, Mar 7, 2018
04:00 PM - 06:00 PM
Centre for Ethics, University of Toronto
Rm 200, Larkin Building