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BLASPHEMY Definition & Legal Meaning

Definition & Citations:

In English law. Blasphemy is the offense of speaking matter relating to God, Jesus Christ, the Bible, or the Book of Common Prayer, intended to wound the feelings of mankind or to excite contempt and hatred against the church by law established, or to promote immorality. Sweet. In American law. Any oral or written reproach maliciously cast upon God, His name, attributes, or religion. Com. v. Knee- land, 20 Pick. (Mass.) 213; Young v. State, 10 Lea (Tenn.) 165; Com. v. Spratt, 14 Phila. (Pa.) 365; People v. Ruggles, 8 Johns. (N. Y.) 290, 5 Am. Dec. 335; Updegraph v. Com., 11 Serg. & R. (Pa.) 406 ; 2 Bish. Cr. Law,

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