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Racial and Religious Hatred Bill

No. I do not believe that anyone’s conscience, whatever their religious belief, requires them to attack the religious belief of anyone else. Cannot they be satisfied with their own religion? Furthermore, people of religious belief have the right not to be incited against—if that is a proper piece of English. We have to give people the right to be protected against such incitement. The Government’s proposals would make that incitement a crime and there would be two effects: first, reducing incitement would reduce the consequences of incitement, and secondly, and much more important, there would be a clear declaration in law that such incitement is wrong. My hon. Friend the Member for Walsall, North (Mr. Winnick) was present many years ago when the House passed a law that made incitement to racial hatred an offence. As a consequence, there has been a great reduction in incitement to racial hatred. Loose, abusive and vile language against people of different races has been much reduced, because there was a demonstrable declaratory effect when that incitement was outlawed. To extend that principle to outlaw incitement to hatred of people due to their religious belief would have the same effect and we would have a better society. I see no reason why people who cleave to their religious belief—or people such as me who cleave to none and are proud of it—should be inhibited in saying what we think in promoting our beliefs. But no one needs the right—the right—to incite hatred against someone else because of their religious belief.