{"id":3605,"date":"2025-08-29T18:42:28","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T18:42:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bioetica.net\/"},"modified":"2025-08-29T18:42:30","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T18:42:30","slug":"hate-speech-religious-freedom-puerto-rico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bioetica.net\/en\/discurso-de-odio-libertad-religiosa-puerto-rico\/","title":{"rendered":"Is quoting the Bible \"hate speech\"? The case in Finland and its implications for Puerto Rico"},"content":{"rendered":"

The recent case in Finland where the Supreme Court reopened a trial against the parliamentarian P\u00e4ivi R\u00e4s\u00e4nen<\/a><\/strong> and the bishop Juhana Pohjola<\/strong> has set off alarm bells throughout the Christian world. Both face legal proceedings for having publicly expressed biblical teachings on human sexuality. The reason? They are accused of \"hate speech\" simply for relying on what the Scriptures teach on the subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This next October 2025<\/strong>Finland's highest court will rehearse the case, despite lower courts having previously acquitted the defendants. This judicial insistence reveals the growing pressure from sectors seeking to redefine morality and silence Christian voices in the public sphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A case that transcends borders<\/strong><\/h3><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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R\u00e4s\u00e4nen, a physician and Lutheran parliamentarian, published a pamphlet on biblical sexuality in 2004 and shared a passage from Romans on Twitter in 2019. Bishop Pohjola, who endorsed the publication, was also charged. Although lower courts ruled that quoting the Bible does not constitute a crime, the Supreme Court decided to reopen the case, potentially setting an international precedent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Scripture reminds us:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cBlessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you for My sake\u201d (Matthew 5:11<\/strong>).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Hate laws: protection or persecution?<\/strong><\/h3><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The so called hate speech laws<\/strong> In Finland, they were originally designed to protect minority groups against real threats of violence. However, in practice, their application has become a mechanism for criminalize Christian convictions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the case of R\u00e4s\u00e4nen and Pohjola, the State interprets the biblical exposition on sexuality as a \u201charmful\u201d attack on the dignity of people, equating the proclamation of Romans 1<\/strong> or Genesis 1:27<\/strong> with incitement to hatred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is problematic for several reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. It confuses violence with conviction<\/strong>: equates citing or preaching a biblical text with attacking a person.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. It redefines pluralism<\/strong>: Only views aligned with the dominant ideology are accepted, excluding the Christian faith from public debate.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. It creates a self-censorship effect<\/strong>Christian pastors, teachers, and doctors are afraid to express their faith for fear of legal consequences.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. It opens the door to more censorship<\/strong>today it's sexuality, tomorrow it will be the right to defend life from conception or to reject euthanasia.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The apostle Peter exhorts us:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    \u201cIt is necessary to obey God rather than men\u201d (Acts 5:29<\/strong>).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    In t\u00e9rminos bio\u00e9ticos<\/a>, esta tendencia implica un giro alarmante: si el Estado define el bien y el mal moral, entonces se despoja a la sociedad de un di\u00e1logo plural y verdadero. En vez de un debate libre sobre temas como sexualidad, familia, vida o muerte, se impone una visi\u00f3n oficial que considera intolerable toda voz distinta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Puerto Rico and the importance of the Religious Freedom Act<\/strong><\/h3><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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    While faith is criminalized in Europe, Puerto Rico took an important step with the approval of the Law No. 14 of 2025 \u2013 Law on the Fundamental Right to Religious Freedom<\/a><\/strong>This law recognizes religious freedom as a fundamental right<\/strong>, applicable to all citizens, including government employees, students, hospitalized patients, and even those confined in prisons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Its main elements include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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