Book censorship
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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- "The book which most deserved to be banned would be a catalogue of banned books." --Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
Many societies have banned certain books. Grounds for banning are 1) political, 2) religious, 3) sexual and 4) social.
The invention of the printing press and movable type led to the Index Librorum Prohibitorum and a climate where every book either first needed an imprimatur or a Royal Privilege.
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Background
"Almost every country places some restrictions on what may be published, although the emphasis and the degree of control differ from country to country and at different periods." There are a variety of reasons for which books may be banned. Materials are often suppressed due to the perceived notion of obscenity. This obscenity can apply to materials that are about sexuality, race, drugs, or social standing.
Governments have also sought to ban certain books which they perceive to contain material that could threaten, embarrass, or criticize them.
Other leaders outside of the government have banned books, including religious authorities. Church leaders who prohibit members of their faith from reading the banned books may want to shelter them from perceived obscene, immoral, or profane ideas or situations.
But even religious materials have been subject to censorship. For example, various scriptures have been banned (and sometimes burned at several points in history). The Bible, and other religious scriptures have all been subjected to censorship and have been banned by various governments. Similarly, books based on the scriptures have also been banned, such as Leo Tolstoy's The Kingdom of God Is Within You, which was banned in the Russian Empire for being anti-establishment.
Religious reasons
Various religious texts have been banned (and sometimes burned) at several points in history. The Bible, the Qur'an, and other religious scriptures have all been subjected to censorship and have been banned in various cities and countries. In Medieval Europe the Roman Catholic Church created a program that lasted until 1966 to deal with dissenting printed opinion; it was called the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (index of prohibited books). Over the years many books based on the scriptures have also been banned, such as Leo Tolstoy's The Kingdom of God is Within You, which was banned in Russia for being anti-establishment.
Political reasons
Books deemed critical of the state or its interests are another common target for banning.
Social reasons
Books that deal with criminal matter have also been subjected to censorship. Small-press titles that have become infamous by being banned include The Anarchist Cookbook, E for Ecstasy, and Hit Man.
Notably, children's books that deal with death or other teenage angst or various crimes often find themselves banned perhaps because of parental worries about teenage suicide or copycat crimes. Many publications are targeted on the premise that children would be corrupted by reading them. This fear led to the creation of the Comics Code Authority in 1954.
Sexual reasons
The Forbidden Best-Sellers of Pre-Revolutionary France
Lists
- Censorship
- Cult fiction
- List of banned books
- List of authors banned during the Third Reich
- Banned films
- Book burning
- The Roman Catholic Church's Index Librorum Prohibitorum
- List of banned writers
- List of controversial books
- Freedom of the press
- The Forbidden Best-Sellers of Pre-Revolutionary France
- Underground literature