Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Definition
Blasphemy involves showing contempt or lack of reverence for a deity or sacred things, often through speech. In the context of illiberal representative regimes, it can be criminalized to control dissent and enforce ideological conformity.
The right to express one's ideas and opinions freely through speech, writing, and other forms of communication without fear of censorship or retaliation.
A governance system where, although elections take place, citizens are cut off from knowledge about the activities of those who exercise real power because of the lack of civil liberties.