State, Religion and Education: the debate arisen from ADI 4439

Abstract

In 2010, the Republic’s General Attorney Office filed at the Federal Supreme Court a Direct Suit for Unconstitutionality (ADI nº 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.

Keywords

• educación brasileña
• educación religiosa
• laicidad