We explain what blasphemy is, why it is a sin and the origin of the term. Also, in what contexts is it considered a crime.
What is blasphemy?
A blasphemy is an insult or insulting word directed towards God or divine majesty, which is generally considered by the religions monotheistic as a grave sin, and even as a crime punishable in the regimes theocratic or confessional.
The word "Blasphemy" comes from the Greek blaptein, "Injure", and pheme, "Reputation", so that initially the term simply described an insult or a form of verbal derision. But the use that has been made of it in general throughout the history it links it to the divine or the sacred, and therefore regards it as a form of transgression or sacrilege.
In fact, throughout history there have been different laws against blasphemy, born within Christian or Muslim societies, in both cases punished by death. While in the West these types of crimes were abolished by the freedom of expression and freedom of worship, largely as a result of the French Revolution of 1789, in other cultural regions it is possible to find them still in the XXI century.
Now, what constitutes blasphemy or not depends on the codes and the doctrine specific to a religion. Thus, for example, for the Islam Any form of visual representation of their prophet Muhammad or God is blasphemous or sacrilegious, and radical Islamic groups have been able, for example, to plant bombs in a French satirical newspaper in retaliation for the publication of cartoons of the prophet.