The Center for Inquiry has decreed that the 30th of September is now Blasphemy Day International to commemorate those Danish cartoons that set the Muslim world on fire.  Which means, of course, that it will be celebrated by dozens of people worldwide…

OK, now I’m being a little cruel, but I’m not entirely sure this holiday will catch on. It’s cool and all that it falls on my Dad’s birthday, especially considering the fact he loves to blaspheme (every single swear word in French is an offense to the Catholic Church). Still, I think I have to agree with Hemant over at Friendly Atheist in saying although I do love the idea, how it gets implemented worries me a little.

I think the problem lies in where we draw the line. The truth is we all probably have many religious friends who would be terribly hurt if we went out of our way to offend and shock them. There’s also the danger that some might take things too far, and if they do, it’ll be impossible to disassociate ourselves from the few atheists who cause real trouble. The same way Fundamentalists dictate the image we have of Islam, so too can a few bad apples spoil our image of being rational, logical people. It’s not something I feel we should discard so carelessly just to annoy the hell out of religious folks. If it was up to me, I would have made it Apostasy Day instead!