Racial and Religious Hatred Bill

moved Amendment No. 1:"Page 7, line 2, at end insert—" ““(2)   For the avoidance of doubt, no offence is committed on the sole ground that a person has read aloud from the scriptures traditionally held sacred by one of the main world religions within a place of worship or at a private meeting.”” The noble Lord said: My Lords, I hope very much that this amendment is a model of what a Third Reading amendment should be. It is for the avoidance of doubt and is intended to clear up an uncertainty in the Bill. It does not seek to reopen matters already decided. Furthermore, it has been tightly and narrowly drafted with the help of the Public Bill Office. It protects readings from the scriptures held sacred by one or other of the main world religions, provided that the reading takes place inside a place of worship or at a private meeting—for example, in a house or a school. Outdoor meetings are deliberately not covered. We all know that violent and bloodthirsty passages can be found in many ancient scriptures written hundreds or even thousands of years ago. Today’s audiences should use their critical judgment in applying such texts to the actual contemporary circumstances. They should perhaps give greater weight to the injunction to,"““love your neighbour as yourself””," than to,"““an eye for an eye””." At all events, the amendment gives no protection to comments or sermons based on texts. My amendment has the useful, practical purpose of reducing the scope for frivolous or malicious complaints. These could well lead to police investigations of possible incitement to religious hatred and to long considerations of whether to prosecute. On all these grounds, I trust that the amendment will find favour with the Government and with your Lordships. I beg to move.