State, Religion and Education: the debate arisen from ADI 4439
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3232/REB.2016.V3.N5.2241Keywords:
Brazilian Education, religious education, secularismAbstract
In 2010, the Republic’s General Attorney Office filed at the Federal Supreme Court a Direct Suit for
Unconstitutionality (ADI n. 4439), in which advocated against some of the religious education-related
articles of the National Education Law (Law nº 9.349/96) and of the international treaty (Concordat)
between Brazil and the Holy See (Decree nº 7.107/10). In order to contribute to this debate, the present
article is divided in three parts. Firstly, we seek to precise the concept and the importance of secularism.
Afterwards, we analyse the historical development of Brazil’s secularism, focusing on the education. Finally, we present our opinion about how it’s possible to combine “religious education” with secularism.