Zagadnienie uczuć religijnych w kontekście art. 196 Kodeksu karnego

The article analyzes religious feelings in the context of criminal offence against religious feelings in the face of philosophical, psychological and juridical interpretations. According to Article 196 of the Polish Criminal Code from 1997 religious feelings are regarded as protected goods. However, the mentioned term has not been clearly defined, which provokes controversies in legal circles. The paper indicates the exact nature of religious feelings and their relation to religious beliefs. The author argues that Article 196 unnecessarily focuses on the offence of feelings rather than the defence of religion in the public sphere. The application of the expression religious feelings to the Criminal Code grants vast possibilities of its understanding and causes numerous over interpretations of Article 196. To avoid that confusion the law ought to circumscribe the extent to which religion can be protected. The inquiry into specific cases of offence against religious feelings must not be based on the subjective experience of the offended victim because one will never find the ultimate criterion to assess whether someone has actually been hurt. After the prohibited activities/possible offences against religion are defined, the behavior of the offender should be the main point of reference. A propounded amendment might generate other problems such as, for example, the transgression/violation of the neutrality of the state; therefore, Article 196 in its current meaning is unacceptable. Consequently, the religious feelings term should be clarified or removed.