In Poland, artists are silenced by blasphemy law

In Poland, the vast majority of charges under Article 196 are made by Catholics, the dominant religious group in the country, who claim that their religious feelings were offended by artists whose works challenge or make reference to Catholicism in a critical way. In practice, the law weakens democratic values by sending a message to the public that the Catholic Church will receive state special protection from critical narratives. While freedom of religion is of equal importance to freedom of expression in a democratic society, and therefore deserving of equal protections, the right to freedom of religion can be sufficiently protected by laws preventing incitement to violence, discrimination, or hate, as is necessary to maintain peace in a democratic society. In contrast, protecting individuals’ “religious feelings” through blasphemy laws stifles free expression in order to insulate religions and religious institutions from criticism, which is not a legitimate aim of the law. 

The law also weakens democratic values because it has a ‘chilling effect’ [5] on free speech; it incites fear in artists and, consequently, causes them to self-censor their ideas. In practice, a majority of the Article 196 cases are ultimately dismissed or acquitted by the prosecutor’s office. However, the legal process itself, as well as the negative consequences associated with the allegations, succeed in deterring artists from freely expressing themselves. 

In Cultural Control we spoke with the Polish visual artist, Marta Frej, about her experience with this law and the effect it has on artists’ free speech. In 2021, Ordo Iuris, a conservative legal group brought allegations against Frej for one of her artworks. The work in question showed a figure like the Virgin Mary wearing a covid-protective face mask with a red lightning bolt on it, a symbol of the women’s reproductive rights movement in Poland. Frej was questioned by the prosecutor’s office in June 2021 regarding her artwork and though the charges were ultimately dismissed, the allegation itself came with negative consequences that affected Frej’s professional and personal life. Prior to the dismissal of the allegation, Ordo Iuris launched a social media campaign denouncing Frej’s work. Their campaign was further sensationalized by conservative media outlets that called Frej’s work “scandalous” and “insulting.” At the time, Frej was about to publish Dromedaries, a book featuring one of her collections, and she had a deal with the national bookseller, Empik, to release it. However, in response to the negative media coverage, Empik expressed hesitancy about carrying the book. Though the bookseller ultimately authorized a limited release of the book, but canceled the larger roll-out they had initially discussed, causing Frej to lose out on significant potential earnings. Further, having to pay legal defense fees for charges that are ultimately dismissed is a significant financial set-back for artists like Frej.