The 2001 legislation on religious advertising is increasingly leading to absurd conclusions, writes Breda O'Brien
CUE MYSTERIOUS voice whispering with great nervousness: Listen, we have shops in Dublin, Cork, Ennis, Sligo, Monaghan and Derry, but we can't tell you what we sell. We can't say anything about the time of year. We can't tell you that we have a website either and, Holy God, if we tell you who set us up . . . Cue screams and sound of body being dragged away from the mike.
In the spirit of Christmas, I offer this script for a radio ad free to my former employers, Veritas. I reckon it will get around all the restrictions.
Religious advertising was first banned in 1960. Given that the 1960s came to Ireland in the 1970s, it can hardly have been an act of unbridled secularism. The same Act also prohibited political advertising or advertising in relation to an industrial dispute. In short, it seemed to follow the rules for an amicable conversation in a pub. Stay away from politics, religion and, while you are at it, strikes.
In 1960, the Catholic Church was probably at the apex of its influence. Who would need to pay for an advertisement when the pews were full week after week? Oddly enough, it was only as Ireland became more secular that the legislation began to look draconian.
Pastor Roy Murphy of the Irish Faith Centre tried to push the boundaries with an ad about the Resurrection in 1995. When the Radio and Television Commission banned it, he took a case all the way to Europe (The case had the rather delicious title, Murphy v. Ireland.). His attempt failed.
However, when in 1999 an advertisement for the privately-owned Irish Catholic newspaper was banned, humanists and religious believers alike condemned the decision. As a result, the Broadcasting Bill of 2001 allowed for the advertising of religious publications and events, but not for the promotion of religion.
The Irish Catholicfound itself in the culture wars again in 2002 when an advertising campaign using the phrase "the good the church does" was deemed in breach. The Government instituted a consultation process with a view to changing the legislation, but the then minister for communications Dermot Ahern announced in January 2004 that he had decided to retain the ban.
His reasoning was that "an individual's creed is a precious and private concern". Broadcast advertising should not be available to people with "deep pockets" to promote religious stances. He did not believe "religious interests should be able to buy airtime to deliver an unchallenged message - one which other interests, through lack of resources, might not be able to match or counter".
Presumably, he was hinting at cults, or brash American churches which would bombard us with biblical texts during breaks in Morning Ireland. However, neither kind of group has shown much enthusiasm for buying airtime, but the religious bookstore Veritas has made three attempts to satisfy requirements and failed.
The last attempt read: "Cake and crackers, Santa and stockings, turkey and tinsel, mistletoe and mince pies, and presents and puddings. Christmas: aren't we forgetting something? This Christmas, why not give a gift that means more? Veritas has a range of different and thoughtful gifts, for children and adults alike. From books and music to candles and artwork, there is something for everyone to enjoy and treasure."
When banning religious advertising involves banning something as innocuous as this, it begins to look mean-minded and ridiculous. We don't censor other advertisements in the same way. It is not illegal, for example, to urge people to get their backsides down to the pub at Christmas. Why do we need to protect people from the evils of religious advertising? Dermot Ahern, certainly no rampant secularist, inadvertently echoes a certain type of secularist creed. Religion is fine and dandy so long as it stays private and personal, and does not intrude on the public sphere. Secularism is far from being the enemy of religion. At its best, it can provide a public space where all voices are heard but none are automatically privileged. However, when secularism is simply an attempt to trump all other voices, it echoes the kind of religious repression it claims to abhor.
Moreover, attempts to deny religion a voice in the public sphere backfire. Religion remains a vital source of moral values for many people. The diminution of the Catholic Church's influence has been positive in some ways in Ireland, particularly as a corrective to the time when it had too much political influence. However, the pendulum has swung very far in the other direction. Moral values tend to be embedded in a particular culture, and when an aspect of that culture weakens dramatically, it is not easy to produce a ready-made substitute. It is like trying to replace a native language with Esperanto - a good idea in theory but a language without deep roots in specific cultures is not easily accepted. In the same way, moral values tend to be part of a tightly-woven web.
Could we honestly say that the decline in religion in Ireland has resulted in a vibrant civic culture, and that our values are healthier? It might be more accurate to say that the weakening of religion happened at the same time as a weakening of all moral commitments. At this stage, a committed socialist probably has more in common with a committed Catholic, than with someone who has abandoned all values except self-advancement. Both the socialist and the Catholic recognise a higher good, and the importance of commitment to something greater than oneself, although they may vehemently disagree on the form that commitment should take.
A ban on advertising may have made sense in 1960, in a situation where one church already had a virtual monopoly. It made far less sense in 2004, and makes less sense with every passing year. New broadcasting legislation is currently making its way through the Oireachtas. It is an opportunity to remove the more draconian and frankly silly elements of the current legislation. Certainly, retain some control so that it cannot be abused by extremists, but let's not continue to ban advertisements that merely urge us to think about what Christmas could really mean.
bobrien@irishtimes.com