The Profane Oaths Act 1745 (19 Geo. II, c.21) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain passed in 1746, in effect from 1 June 1746, and formally repealed in 1967. It established a system of fines payable for "profane cursing and swearing".
The preamble described the ubiquity of the "horrid, impious, and execrable vices of profane cursing and swearing" in the country, noting that this "may justly provoke the divine vengeance to increase the many calamities these nations now labour under", and that the existing laws designed to prevent this were ineffective. It is worth noting, however, that many of the provisions in this Act were essentially the same as those in the 1694 Act which it replaced.
Read more about Profane Oaths Act 1745: Overview, Fines, Repeal of Earlier Acts, Repeal of 1745 Act
Famous quotes containing the words profane, oaths and/or act:
“I’ve tried to reduce profanity but I reduced so much profanity when writing the book that I’m afraid not much could come out. Perhaps we will have to consider it simply as a profane book and hope that the next book will be less profane or perhaps more sacred.”
—Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961)
“The oaths of a woman I inscribe on water.”
—Sophocles (497–406/5 B.C.)
“If your mother tells you to do a thing, it is wrong to reply that you won’t. It is better and more becoming to intimate that you will do as she bids you, and then afterwards act quietly in the matter according to the dictates of your better judgment.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)