Review of the Replay: FaithWorld Fumbles on Blasphemy Goal Line

Religious people at an interfaith conference ask: Do we let the players move the goalposts on the football field?

We are going to learn little from a discussion asking stakeholders to referee the rules of blasphemy. Goalpost placement is an arbitrary rule of the game, not subject to discussion. Fans get arrested if they rock the posts and tear them down.

Our metaphor scores and Faith World fumbled on this one.

Where is the line between criticism and blasphemy?
Posted by: Tom Heneghan

Where is the dividing line between acceptable and unacceptable criticism of religion? How should the media cover issues that offend certain believers? These issues came up at last week’s Catholic-Muslim Forum in Rome and in the public editor’s column in the Sunday New York Times. In both cases, useful distinctions were made. But I’m not sure how much agreement they will produce the next time someone finds a depiction of a religion, its beliefs or its symbols outrageous...more

In fact, the Times discussed not an allegedly blasphemous play but the propriety of reviewing said drama in the newspaper.