Offending religious feelings (Poland)

A law forbidding blasphemy was included in the original 1932 Polish penal code.[4]

The Constitutional Tribunal has ruled that the law is not in conflict with the Constitution of Poland and is not overbroad. The European Court of Human Rights has also allowed other blasphemy laws under margin of appreciation doctrine, as individual countries have broad ability to set moral standards.[4]

Polish law has no provision which exempts or reduces the scrutiny applied to artistic expression alleged to violate the law, although many artists who have been accused of violating it say that their work should be protected as artistic freedom.[4]

A separate law, Article 256, criminalizes incitement to hatred based on religious belief.[5][4]

The majority of cases in which charges of Article 196 are made do not lead to actual convictions. About 55 prosecutions on average were brought each year between 1999 and 2016. Since Poland is a predominantly Catholic country (around 87% of Poles say they were baptized as Catholics), most Article 196 cases concern that religion.[4]

In 2000, Polish artist Dorota Nieznalska juxtaposed Greek cross with male genitalia in an artistic exhibition. In 2009 she was finally acquitted after lengthy legal proceedings, due to the court not finding an intent to offend religious feelings.[4]

Darski performing at Hellfest 2010

In 2008, musician Adam Darski tore up a Bible during a performance, referring to it as "the book of lies".[4] He was acquitted after the performance was deemed not to be sufficiently public, the audience had bought tickets and consented to the performance, and only one audience member complained. After his acquittal, Darski announced his intention to hold "Satanist communion" during performances.[4]

In 2009, singer Dorota Rabczewska (Doda) referred to the Bible as "something written by individuals high on alcohol and weed". She was convicted and fined. The case Rabczewska v. Poland is currently pending before the European Court of Human Rights.[4]

In 2015, Robert Biedroń, mayor of Słupsk, was investigated for removing a portrait of John Paul II from his office after PiS activists reported him for allegedly offending religious feelings.[6]

In 2019, Elżbieta Podleśna was arrested for displaying a Rainbow Madonna adaptation of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa.[1] In July 2020, Podleśna and two other activists were formally charged with offending religious feelings; they pled not guilty. Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights and Amnesty International criticized the use of the law.[7]

In October 2019, Bishop Szymon Niemiec of the United Ecumenical Church was interrogated by police under suspicion of offending religious feelings "by insulting the object of worship in the form of a Roman Catholic Mass"; police had received more than 150 complaints regarding the incident. He had held an ecumenical, LGBT-inclusive religious service in connection with Warsaw's 2019 Equality Parade, which was criticized by the Roman Catholic Episcopal Conference of Poland and Law and Justice politicians. Niemiec previously held similar services every year since 2010 without controversy. Niemiec and Julia Maciocha, president of the committee which organizes Equality Parade, stated that the complaint against Niemiec violates the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion.[8][9]

The law is controversial in Poland. Lawyers have noted that it is excessively vague, not stating what actions count as "offending religious feelings", leading some to call for repeal of the law.[10][11][12][13][14] Opponents of the law say that it has a chilling effect on legitimate free speech and criticism of religion.[4] It has been criticized for violating free speech by human rights watchdogs such as Article 19,[15] Human Rights Watch,[16] Freedom House,[2] End Blasphemy Laws,[17] and Amnesty International.[18] The Council of Europe's Recommendation 1805 urges member states to repeal blasphemy laws.[4] Anne Ramberg and Michael Kirby of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute stated that the law was overbroad, conflicting with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and was used unfairly to target LGBT rights advocates.[19]

In 2019, MP Krzysztof Mieszkowski of Modern submitted legislation that would have abolished the offense. Referencing Podleśna's arrest, he said that Article 196 "has become a political tool today" and was an "oppressive article that has repeatedly limited creative freedom".[20][21] Robert Biedroń, leader of Spring, said that his party aims to repeal the offense if elected. Biedroń added that the law and arrest of Podleśna made Poland internationally "famous for the idiotic attitude of today's rulers who go after artists and those who enjoy freedom of speech".[5]

• Censorship by religion
• Profaning a monument

• Text of the law (in Polish)
• Official statistics (1999–2016)