Fact check: Which majority Christian countries punish blasphemy with prison time?

1. Summary of the results

Several majority Christian countries maintain blasphemy laws with prison sentences, including:

• El Salvador: 1-3 years imprisonment for insulting religion ^[1]
• Finland: Up to 6 months imprisonment ^[1]
• Austria: 1 month to 1 year for publicly vilifying religious worship ^[1]
• Germany: Has religious defamation laws under Article 166 ^[1]

However, there's a clear trend of Christian-majority countries repealing these laws, with Ireland ^[2] and Greece ^[3] recently removing their blasphemy legislation ^[1].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question requires significant additional context:

• Global Prevalence: As of 2019, 79 countries (40% globally) maintained blasphemy laws ^[4], which increased to 84 countries by 2020 ^[5]
• Recent European Developments: Despite the general trend of repealing blasphemy laws, some European countries are introducing new restrictions - Denmark banned "inappropriate treatment" of religious texts in 2023, and Sweden is considering similar legislation ^[6]
• Enforcement Reality: The most active enforcement occurs in countries where Islam is the state religion, with Pakistan (184 cases), Iran ^[7], Russia ^[8], India ^[9], and Egypt ^[10] being the top enforcers between 2014-2018 ^[5]
• Regional Distribution: Blasphemy laws are most prevalent in the Middle East and North Africa, where 90% of countries maintain such legislation ^[4]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The question's focus on Christian countries could be misleading because:

1. It overlooks the fact that 86% of countries with blasphemy laws include imprisonment as punishment, regardless of majority religion ^[5]

2. The enforcement severity varies significantly - while Christian-majority countries typically impose lighter sentences, some countries maintain death penalties for blasphemy ^[11]

3. The question might create a false equivalence, as 70% of the top enforcing states have Islam as their official religion ^[5]

Those benefiting from this narrow focus might include:

• Religious freedom advocates in Christian-majority countries who want to highlight progressive trends
• Critics of other religious legal systems who might use this data selectively
• Political groups seeking to create religious tensions or promote specific religious governance models