To allow or restrict hate speech is a hotly debated issue in many societies. While the right to freedom of speech is fundamental to liberal democracies, most countries have accepted that hate speech causes significant harm and ought to be regulated. Richard Moon examines the application of hate speech laws when religion is either the source or target of such speech. Moon describes the various legal restrictions on hate speech, religious insult, and blasphemy in Canada, Europe and elsewhere, and uses cases from different jurisdictions to illustrate the particular challenges raised by religious hate speech. The issues addressed are highly topical: speech that attacks religious communities, specifically anti-Muslim rhetoric, and hateful speech that is based on religious doctrine or scripture, such as anti-gay speech. The book draws on a rich understanding of freedom of expression, the harms of hate speech, and the role of religion in public life.

‘There may be no greater challenge to freedom theory today than the triangulation of hate, speech, and religion. Professor Moon is Canada's foremost authority on religious and expressive freedom, and his newest book, Putting Faith in Hate, is at the forefront of timely and critical scholarship on the intersection of these values.'

Jamie Cameron - Osgoode Hall Law School, Ontario

‘Moon is an outstanding scholar. His work displays a powerful analytic mind, thorough analysis, a dominant command of the literature, and a wise pragmatic approach to the subjects he discusses. Moon's book will be of considerable interest to scholars across a range of disciplines. It certainly will be a must read for anyone who wants to understand the issues involved in hate speech regulation. And it provides an illuminating survey of the case law that would be accessible and of interest to journalists and other lay readers.'

Steve Shiffrin - Charles Frank Reavis, Sr Professor of Law Emeritus at Cornell Law School

‘An insightful and accessible examination of the role of religion in the application of hate speech laws, by a leading scholar in the field.'

Nadine Strossen - New York Law School