blasphemy
extreme lack of reverence in words or deeds towards God, expressly disapproved in Biblical tradition, as in Second Commandment. The same sensitivity is behind the Jewish avoidance of any naming of God and the Muslim avoidance of any pictorial manifestation. Targets for the threat of blasphemy are sometimes seen as extending to the wider features and expressions of Christianity, and of other religions. However, Christians also point out that if God is God, any abuse is consumed by the force of love. The inclusion of swearing under the heading of blasphemy is perhaps best taken as a prompt to review those elements in human experience (including sex and excretion) which are felt to be so fundamental that we appeal to them in moments of exasperation, desperation or delight. Does that attribute to them religious/ultimate import?