Give me that old-time religion

The Catholic Church has stopped burning heretics and 'witches' alive. That's progress. But sometimes I get the idea that they'd still do that if they could.

Isn't it just that they no longer have the power to impose their will on everyone else?

Take this situation in India, where a man is facing arrest for pointing out that a Catholic 'miracle' was just a leaky pipe:

Last month we started a petition in support of Sanal Edamaruku, the President of the Indian Rationalist Association facing charges of “deliberately hurting religious feelings" over his exposure of a supposed miracle at a Catholic church in Mumbai. Edamaruku pointed out on TV that the source of "holy water" dripping from a crucifix in the church was in fact a leaky pipe, and this prompted three local Catholic organisations with close connections to the Catholic Archdiocese of Bombay to file complaints against him with the police.

Having been denied "anticipatory bail", Edamaruku was at risk of being held in custody ahead of any trial, and was forced to avoid his home whole he filed for anticipatory bail with the High Court in Mumbai.

Unfortunately, the situation has now worsened – his appeal for anticipatory bail with the High Court has been tossed out again (the higher court insists it goes through the lower courts first), which means arrest will lead to certain imprisonment for an indeterminate period. In the last two days police have turned up at his home in Delhi twice with an arrest warrant. He is currently in Europe (at an undisclosed location) but is worried that the Indian authorities will insist he returns to India to face the charges.

"Deliberately hurting religious feelings." How many Americans would eagerly vote for a law prohibiting that?

Of course, it seems obvious to me that you only need that kind of protection if you know your religion is just bullshit. Why would you need protection from criticism otherwise?

Be sure to sign the petition.