RELIGION AND LIFE 

2 - MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATH 

The media - 

Shouldn't be free to criticise religious views on life and death - 

• Can stir up religious hatred - banned by Racial and Religious Hatred Act of 2007 (eg: Catholic Church told Catholics to withdraw support from Amnesty International for deciding abortion should be a human right for rape victims. Media reports chose examples that showed Catholic Church in bad light) 
• Religious believers - freedom of media should be restricted, can cause offence (eg: Danish newspaper published cartoons of prophet Muhammad in 2005/6) 
• Close to crime of blasphemy (eg: if media criticises Pope's etchings on abortion, they are condemning the Catholic Church) 
• Religious statements are based on what God says - beyond human criticism 

Should be free to criticise religious views on life and death - 

• Freedom of expression (basic human right), needed for democracy to work - need free media to be aware of options for voting, what is going on in the world and their own country - must be free to criticise religious attitudes 
• Religious leaders use media to make statements about matters of life and death (eg: on stem cell research) then they must be prepared for the media to criticise the statements 
• Multi-faith society (like UK), needs freedom of religious belief and expression - media must have right to question/criticise 
• Life and death and the issues surrounding it are important to everyone - can't be discussed/views chosen if religions were allowed to put forward views that no one else could criticise