A clear principle is at stake regarding the publication of the controversial cartoons. Of course one should not publish something that is deliberately inflammatory. However one should not refrain from publishing something merely because it may offend a particular religious taboo. The appropriate course, as with some TV programmes, is to issue a warning on the cover that the following content may be offensive to some readers.

Religious freedom means that everyone must have the freedom indulge in any religious belief, provided that this does not infringe the rights of others. Attempts to prohibit the depiction of a particular face, to those that are not offended by it, by those that are, is an unwarranted violation of religious freedom.

The widespread confusion over this issue amply illustrates the confused nature of religious belief itself. In fact, all religious beliefs are so beset with contradictions and implausibilities, that there is really no rational reason to assign them any credibility. What needs to be advocated, is that all such beliefs are not only unwarranted and unnecessary, but also undesirable, and that alternative conceptions of morality are much better found in the universal principles of compassion, honesty, freedom and justice.

Yours secularly,
Dr John L Perkins
President, Secular Party of Australia