Is blasphemy illegal in South Africa?
Fines / civil penalties
Blasphemy is a common law offence, but hate speech protections only carry civil penalties.
South Africa is one of 4 countries classified “Fines / civil penalties” for blasphemy — 7% of the 54 with data.
Source
- Taken from
- Wikipedia: Blasphemy law
- Last checked
- 17 September 2026
- How it was classified
- Classified by a language model from the source text, then checked against hand-verified reference countries.
Nearby countries
- Tanzania
- Varies by region Mainland Tanzania has no specific blasphemy law, while Zanzibar criminalizes sacrilege and religious insult.
- Seychelles
- Criminal offense Seychelles criminalizes wounding religious feelings with a penalty of one year imprisonment.
- Nigeria
- Criminal offense Blasphemy is a criminal offense under the Criminal Code and Sharia law in some states.
- Sudan
- Criminal offense Blasphemy remains a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment, fines, and lashes.
- Yemen
- Death penalty possible Sharia law in Yemen prescribes death as the punishment for blasphemy according to some interpretations.
- Saudi Arabia
- Death penalty possible Blasphemy is a criminal offense punishable by penalties up to the death penalty.
Other laws in South Africa
- Holocaust Denial
- No specific law
- Flag Desecration
- Legal / protected speech
- Conversion Therapy
- No ban
A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.