Ireland Votes on Historic Blasphemy Ban
Irish voters were deciding Friday whether to repeal a ban on blasphemy -- the latest potential reform distancing the once-devout nation from its Catholic past.
The referendum was being held alongside a presidential election in which incumbent Michael Higgins was expected to secure a new seven-year term in the largely ceremonial post.
Irish law defines blasphemy as a "matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby causing outrage among a substantial number of the adherents of that religion."
It is punishable by a €25,000 ($28,400) fine, although the last attempted prosecution is believed to have involved a priest who accidentally burnt a bible in 1855 -- before blasphemy was enshrined in the 1937 constitution -- rendering the present-day law largely obsolete.
The law was heavily criticized three years ago when police were forced to investigate British TV personality Stephen Fry for calling God "stupid" during an interview.
Many high profile Irish figures have signaled their backing for the referendum for some years.
But voters who spoke to AFP in Dublin seemed in the majority perplexed by the decision to take the poll.
Even local priest Father Walter Macken, who said he considered the blasphemy provision "one of the small guarantees of religious coherence" in Ireland, failed to evoke fire and brimstone over the vote.
"It doesn't mean that much to me," the 80-year-old admitted after casting his ballot in central Dublin. "It's not that relevant to the everyday struggles -- even the ones that I'm involved in."
"I've never, ever heard a blasphemy in my entire life."
This latest vote follows a May referendum when citizens overturned a constitutional abortion ban by a landslide 66 percent.
Many saw that vote as a bellwether issue, demonstrating the Catholic Church's diminishing influence in the once highly religious nation.
"I think it's definitely becoming a more secular country," said David Tomkin, 70, as he prepared to cast his vote.
"But I also think that this blasphemy law is too complicated for most people to understand."
On Friday polls opened at 7am (0600 GMT) and will close at 10pm (2100 GMT), with votes due to be counted on Saturday.
Ireland's electorate currently stands at around 3.2 million, according to May figures from the housing ministry.
In the presidential vote, Higgins, a 77-year-old former parliamentary politician, academic and poet known affectionately to many as "Michael D.", is facing five challengers.
