Censorship by religion


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Censorship by religion is a form of censorship where freedom of expression is controlled or limited using religious authority or on the basis of the teachings of the religion. This form of censorship has a long history and is practiced in many societies and by many religions. Examples include the censorship by the Vatican of Galileo's support for heliocentric theory and of Salman Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses by Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

1 Overview
2 Examples
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

Overview

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Religious censorship is defined as the act of suppressing views that are contrary of those of an organized religion. It is usually performed on the grounds of blasphemy, heresy, sacrilege or impiety - the censored work being viewed as obscene, challenging a dogma, or violating a religious taboo. Defending against these charges is often difficult as many religions permit only the religious authorities (clergy) to interpret doctrine and the interpretation is usually dogmatic. The Catholic church banned hundreds of writings, and maintained the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (index of prohibited books), most of which were writings that the church had deemed dangerous, until 1965.

Other types of book on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum include works by Desiderius Erasmus, a Catholic scholar who pointed out that the Comma Johanneum was probably forged, Nicolaus Copernicus who argued for a Heliocentric orbit of the earth in De revolutionibus orbium coelestium.

Similar methodology has been carried out under Islamic theocracies, such as the fatwa (religious judgment) against the Satanic Verses (a novel), ordering that the author be executed for blasphemy.

Examples

See also: Religious controversies

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Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2008)

Depiction of the human form in art Islam

15th century illustration in a copy of a manuscript by Al-Bīrūnī, depicting Muhammad preaching the Qur'ān in Mecca.^[1]

A protest demanding Wikipedia remove images of Muhammed from all articles was started in February 2008. The main image in question is a painting of Muhammed in Mecca. Wikipedia refused to remove the images.^[2]

Scientific theories
- Biological evolution (Wahabism, Fundamentalist Christianity, Charedi Judaism)
Literature
- Works by Taslima Nasrin (Islam)
- The Da Vinci Code was banned in Samoa.
- The Power and the Glory: The Cult of Manalo was banned by the Philippine sect Iglesia ni Cristo from being published in the Philippines. .
The Profit is a feature film written and directed by Peter N. Alexander in 2001. Little seen, worldwide distribution of the film was prohibited by an American court order, the result of a lawsuit by the Church of Scientology although the filmmaker claims that the film is not about Scientology.