Publications

Alongside country figures and case studies, the report examines personal attacks, arson against churches, and new legal disputes involving prayer, free speech, and religious education. Supplementary tables make developments across Europe easier to compare.

The brief, pointed answers address attraction, self-worth, choosing a partner, past hurts, and faith. This German-language e-book is available exclusively as a PDF and is supplied digitally after purchase.

Across Europe, such laws are readily being used. Ministers of religion have been arrested for preaching sermons from the Bible, journalists have been routinely fined, and even private conversations between citizens have resulted in criminal investigations. Yet remarkably, there appears to be almost unwavering support for “hate speech” laws among major European institutions and many non-governmental organizations. Summarizing what appears to be the popular position on “hate speech” laws, two judges of the European Court of Human Rights recently held that “extremist opinions can bring much more harm than restrictions on freedom of expression.”

This book seeks to challenge this prevailing orthodoxy by detailing the stark history of the internationalization of “hate speech” laws, their present day application, and their possible future. Fifty “hate speech” cases are discussed and a fully up-to-date compendium containing hundreds of European “hate speech” laws is included.

Paul B. Coleman is legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom at its office in Vienna, Austria, where he specializes in international litigation with a focus on European law.

Available in German, from November 2011.