Abstracts
Résumé
Dans un contexte mondial de plus en plus tendu depuis les événements du 11 septembre 2001 où de simples caricatures satiriques ont semé la controverse et ont même déclenché des attaques terroristes, la question se pose de savoir si les religions possèdent le droit d’être protégées contre le blasphème et les expressions offensantes Le présent texte entend répondre à cette question par la négative. Il montre que les lois contre le blasphème sont tombées en désuétude dans la plupart des démocraties libérales et que les principales justifications connues avancées en leur faveur sont mal fondées. Il tente ensuite de solutionner deux problèmes importants qui découlent de cette position. Le premier est de savoir comment répondre au sentiment d’outrage des croyants une fois que la criminalisation ou la prohibition des offenses ne sont plus des options disponibles. Le second est de savoir si la tolérance dont nos sociétés doivent faire preuve à l’endroit des expressions offensantes s’étend également à la propagande haineuse.
Abstract
In the tense times in the world following the September 11 attacks where mere satirical cartoons have generated controversy and even triggered terrorist acts, we may wonder whether religions have the right to be protected against blasphemous and offensive expressions. I provide in this paper a negative answer to this question. I demonstrate that blasphemy laws have fallen into disuse in most liberal democracies and that the main known justifications for them are today either obsolete or ill-founded. Then I seek to solve two ensuing problems. The first is how to respond to the believers’ remaining sense of grievance when the prohibition or criminalization of offenses are no longer available. The second is to know how far the tolerance of our societies towards offensive expressions should go and if this tolerance should also extend to hate propaganda
Appendices
Bibliographie
- Baker, Edwin, « Harm, Liberty, and Free Speech », Southern California Law Review, vol. 70, no 4, 1997, p. 979-1020.
- Brettschneider, Corey, When the State Speaks, What Should it Say ?, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 2012.
- Brown, Alexander, Hate Speech Law. A Philosophical Examination, New York, Routledge, 2015.
- Cram, Ian, 2009, « The Danish Cartoons, Offensive Expression, and Democratic Legitimacy », dans Ivan Hare et James Weinstein (sous la dir. de), Extreme Speech and Democracy, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2009, p. 311-330.
- Delgado, Richard, « Words that Wound : A Tort Action », in Matsuda, Mari J., Charles R. Lawrence III, Richard Delgado et Kimberlè Williams Crenshaw (dir.), Words that Wound. Critical Race Theory, Assaultive Speech, and the First Amendment, Boulder, Westview Press, 1993, p. 89-110.
- Dworkin, Ronald, « Free Speech, Politics, and the Dimensions of Democracy », dans Ronald Dworkin, Sovereign Virtue. The Theory and Practice of Equality, Cambridge (Mass.), Harvard University Press, 2000, p. 351-385.
- Dworkin, Ronald, « Foreword », in Ivan Hare et James Weinstein (dir.), Extreme Speech and Democracy, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2009, p. v-ix.
- Feinberg, Joel, Harm to Others. The Moral Limits of the Criminal Law, New York, Oxford University Press, 1984.
- Feinberg, Joel, Offense to Others. The Moral Limits of the Criminal Law, New York, Oxford University Press, 1985.
- Gelber, Katharine, Speaking Back : The Free Speach versus Hate Speech Debate, Amsterdam, John Benjamins Ltd, 2002.
- Gelber, Katharine, « ‘Speaking Back’ : The Likely Fate of Hate Speech Policy in the United States and Australia », in Ishani Maitra et Mary Kate McGowan (dir.), Speech and Harm. Controversies Over Free Speech, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2012, p. 50-71.
- Greenawalt, Kent, Fighting Words. Individuals, Communities, and Liberties of Speech, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1996.
- Hare, Ivan, « Blasphemy and Incitement to Religious Hatred: Free Speech Dogma and Doctrine », in Ivan Hare et James Weinstein (dir.), Extreme Speech and Democracy, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2009, p. 289-310.
- Heinze, Eric, « Viewpoint Absolutism and Hate Speech », The Modern Law Review, vol. 99, no 4, 2006, p. 543-582.
- Heinze, Eric, « Cumultaive Jurisprudence and Hate Speech: Sexual Orientation and Analogies to Disability, Age, and Obesity », dans Ivan Hare et James Weinstein (dir.), Extreme Speech and Democracy, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2009, p. 263-285.
- Heinze, Eric, Hate Speech and Democratic Citizenship, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2016.
- Heyman, Steven, Free Speech and Human Dignity, New Haven (CT), Yale University Press, 2008.
- Heyman, Steven, « Hate Speech, Public Discourse, and the First Amendment », in Ivan Hare et James Weinstein (dir.), Extreme Speech and Democracy, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2009, p. 158-181.
- Lepoutre, Maxime, « Hate Speech in Public Discourse : A Pessimistic Defense of Counterspeech », Social Theory and Practice, vol. 43, no 4, 2017, p. 851-883.
- Matsuda, Mari J., « Public Response to Racist Speech : Considering the Victim’s Story », in Matsuda, Mari J., Charles R. Lawrence III, Richard Delgado et Kimberlè Williams Crenshaw (dir.), Words that Wound. Critical Race Theory, Assaultive Speech, and the First Amendment, Boulder, Westview Press, 1993, p. 17-51.
- Nielsen, Laura Beth, « Subtle, Pervasive, Harmful: Racist and Sexist Remarks in Public as Hate Speech », Journal of Social Issues, vol. 58, no 2, 2002, p. 265-280.
- Pouivet, Roger, « Le droit de croire qu’une seule religion est vraie », Philosophie, no 145, 2020.
- Post, Robert, « Racist Speech, Democracy, and the First Amendment », William and Mary Law Review, vol. 32, no 2-4, 1991, p. 267-328.
- Post, Robert, 2009, « Hate Speech », in Ivan Hare et Jmes Weinstein (dir.), Extreme Speech and Democracy, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2009, p. 123-138.
- Quong, Jonathan, Liberalism Without Perfection, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2012.
- Rawls, John, A Theory of Justice, Cambridge (Mass.), The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1971.
- Rawls, John, Political Liberalism, New York, Columbia University Press, 1996.
- Rawls, John, Justice as Fairness : A Restatement, Cambridge (Mass.), The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2003.
- Simpson, Robert, « Dignity, Harm, and Hate Speech », Law and Philosophy, vol. 32, no 6, 2013, p. 701-728.
- Sumner, L.W., The Hateful and the Obscene. Studies in the Limits of Free Expression, Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 2004.
- Sunstein, Cass R., Democracy and the Problem of Free Speech, New York, The Free Press, 1995.
- Waldron, Jeremy, « Rights in Conflict », Ethics, vol. 99, no 3, 1989, p. 503-519.
- Waldron, Jeremy, « Cultural Identity and Civic Responsibility », in Will Kymlicka et Wayne Norman (dir.), Citizenship in Diverse Societies, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2000, p. 155-174.
- Waldron, Jeremy, « Dignity, Rank, and Rights », in Susan Young (dir.), The Tanner Lectures on Human Values, vol. 29, Salt Lake City, University of Utah Press, 2011.
- Waldron, Jeremy, The Harm in Hate Speech, Cambridge (Mass.), Harvard University Press, 2012.
- Waluchow, W.J. (dir.), Free expression: Essays in Law and Philosophy, New York, Clarendon Press, 1994.
- Weinstein, James, « An Overview of American Free Speech Doctrine and its Application to Extreme Speech », in Ivan Hare et James Weinstein (dir.), Extreme Speech and Democracy, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2009, p. 81-91.