Just curious - wouldn't this mean that an atheist could sue a religious group that spreads lies about atheists for slandering them?
2007-10-11 01:37:58 · 22 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Try & find a Lawyer who'd take on the case.
Unfortunately in Oz (at least) they'd not take a case if the person's got no assets and therefore can not pay their fees much less pay any compensation -if they are lucky. & considering most uninformed Fundy Wackjobs have no visible assets, that's VERY unlikely.
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2007-10-11 02:22:36 · answer #1 · answered by Rai A 7 · 4⤊ 1⤋
If it's simply said here, it's slanderous, while the religious printed and broadcast false claims about atheists are libelous.
However, such statements are not criminal if it is decided that they were made "in good faith":
(from the website below:)
"It does not matter if the view expressed is extreme, so long as it is an honestly held view and not malicious. For this purpose, 'malice' may be established if it can be proven that the commentator did not genuinely hold the view he expressed".
If the person making the false statements can convince the judge/jury that he or she honesty held the false views of atheism, he or she will not be held responsible. In light of the fact that large swathes of the United States are filled with people believing those defamatory claims about atheists, it would be easy to convince a judge/jury that one had made the claims in good faith.
The law in the United States is particularly strong at protecting the free speech of the person making the defamatory statements: one would have to prove malice, and meet a fairly high standard. Were that not the case, there'd be suits of this sort aimed at pretty much all of us all of the time.
The inability to make the charges "stick" in no way changes the fact though that quite a few religious groups routinely libel atheists. The crime is committed - it's just not practical to pursue the cases, as it would be unlikely that one would get a conviction. Nonetheless, publishing false claims about atheists is criminal activity.
2007-10-11 01:47:51 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Nope. A group of people cannot sue for defamation. Only an individual can be defamed. Imagine how many lawsuits would pop up just on the behalf of lawyers if vague groupings of people could sue for slander.
2007-10-11 01:46:56 · answer #3 · answered by Rev. Still Monkeys 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yeah, um, each and every thing you defined? Theists of each and every domination of each and every faith do the exact same component. And it truly is effortless understanding that dictatorships and communist governments are not atheist depending, they purely strengthen the authorities to religious reverence so human beings do not insurrection. Dolt, in case you want a theocracy, bypass flow to the middle East, they're ample there.
2016-10-09 00:39:14 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If someone was to actually call an atheist an "evil bastard", I wonder if that wouldn't get a little too technical. After all, most atheists' parents are married. Therefore, they would not be bastards.
2007-10-11 02:27:23 · answer #5 · answered by †Lawrence R† 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I was actually just wondering something like this the other day.
Conversely, if Christians tried to sue atheists for slander and lost because they couldn't prove God existed, what would that mean?
Technically, it's libel if it's written.
2007-10-11 01:41:36 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Yes it is slander, but it makes sense.
Have you ever known a thief? What are they always worried about? Someone stealing their stuff right?
All people are pretty much the same, they worry about things that they themselves are guilty of. Cheaters, worry that their spouses are cheating on them and gossipers worry that people are gossiping about them.
So when a Christian claims that I am bereft of morals or an evil bastard, I laugh because they are really just reflecting what they believe about themselves.
People who say that are basically claiming that they are evil people and use God to cover it up.
2007-10-11 01:45:32 · answer #7 · answered by ɹɐǝɟsuɐs Blessed Cheese Maker 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Isn't the portrayal of Evangelical Christians by athiests as nuts technically slander?
2007-10-11 01:43:06 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 3⤋
No. It is technically libel, as it is fixed in media (at least on YA).
I've only been called evil by believers so twisted up in their own heads that they would easily get off with an insanity plea, so I don't see any advantage to trying to sue.
2007-10-11 01:41:09 · answer #9 · answered by Dharma Nature 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
The people that think we're evil are the same people who believe a man lived inside the belly of a whale for days. These are people who have surrendered their option of being taken seriously in the 21st century.
2007-10-11 01:41:41 · answer #10 · answered by Deke 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋