Liberdade de religião ou crença no Brasil: um estudo dos contornos normativos da expressão religiosa no panorama nacional

Abstract

In Brazil, one of the most populous countries in the world, there is an immense religious plurality, and a significant portion of society communicates using some kind of religious discourse. It must be emphasized that religious freedom is a fundamental human right and is indispensable to human dignity. Given that pluralization creates pressures towards religious freedom, for practical reasons of maintaining stability, particularly in a country of such size and diversity, in the protection of religious freedom, it is noticeable the need for careful attention to the right to freedom of religion or belief, in order to ensure a democratic and plural society, without exclusion or intolerance against any belief. Therefore, this study aims to analyze what essentially constitutes religious freedom for protection purposes, and what aspects of it are protected normatively or jurisprudentially in Brazil. The constitutional protection norms are analyzed, as well as the facets of the manifestation of belief and which of them would be subject to intervention by the State and the Law, by means of doctrine and legislation, and especially by the study of jurisprudences that specifically address the application of Brazilian Law on the subject. Thus, taking into consideration that religion is a vivid reality in Brazil, and a right inherent to human beings, this study will be conducted in order to visualize, in practice, how religious freedom is protected in the Brazilian scenario.