Religious symbols in public offices

Crucifix on the wall of the plenary hall of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil, in the National Congress Palace

The use of religious symbols in public offices generates controversy in several countries, especially the use of Catholic crucifixes in countries with a Christian majority,[1] such as Brazil and the United States.[2][3][1][4] According to secularists, the presence of these items of religious devotion contradicts the principle of secularism in secular states,[5] ignoring the representation of religious and non-religious minorities.[6][7]

Brazil

In Brazil specifically, this subject has been discussed for over a century, and was addressed by Miguel Vieira Ferreira in the book O Cristo no júri (English: Christ in the jury), in which he protested against the presence of crucifixes in juries.[8]

In the 1940s, the Popular Representation Party (1945-1962), a political party that brought together numerous Green Shirts from the ranks of the Brazilian Integralist Action (1932-1937), launched a nationwide campaign through its coreligionists, successfully proposing the enthronement of the image of the crucifix in several State Legislative Assemblies, Municipal Chambers, and the Federal Chamber, as well as in courts throughout the country.[9]

The plural aspect and its multiplicity of meanings would serve as an inspiration to Brazilian public figures. According to Councilor Amadeu Puppi (PRP-PR), during the enthronement ceremony of the crucifix in the Municipal Chamber of Ponta Grossa, Paraná: "May this Chamber and its legislators, when raising their eyes to the Crucified, always know that they are worthy of so much knowledge and so much love, which Christ possesses and represents, for the glory of Ponta Grossa, Paraná, and Brazil."[10]

In 2024, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) filed an appeal to overturn a decision by the Regional Court of the 3rd Region (TRF-3) that rejected the removal of religious symbols from public offices in the state of São Paulo. The MPF argued that Brazil was a secular country and therefore public authorities should not be tied to any specific religion. However, the TRF-3 considered that the presence of these symbols reaffirms religious freedom and respect for cultural aspects of Brazilian society.[11][3]

Portugal

In Portugal, this is a topic that, as a whole, has ceased to exist due to the return to secularization after the revolution of April 25, 1974. The strong anticlerical movement in Portugal dates back to the period of the establishment of the republic in 1910.[12][13][14]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Arriada Lorea, Roberto (2009). "Brazilian secularity and minorities in the biggest Catholic nation in the world: A Catholic country?". Archives de sciences sociales des religions. 146. doi:10.4000/assr.21242. ISSN 0335-5985.
  2. ↑ Stycer, Mauricio (August 4, 2008). "Procurador explica ação que pede a retirada de crucifixos de repartições federais" [Prosecutor explains lawsuit seeking removal of crucifixes from federal offices]. Último Segundo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on August 7, 2009. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Fernando Capez (2009). "O ESTADO LAICO E A RETIRADA DE SÍMBOLOS RELIGIOSOS DE REPARTIÇÕES PÚBLICAS" [THE SECULAR STATE AND THE REMOVAL OF RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS FROM PUBLIC OFFICES] (PDF). Public Prosecutor's Office of Rio de Janeiro (in Brazilian Portuguese).
  4. ↑ Filho, Manoel Gonçalves Ferreira (2002). "Religião, estado e direito" [Religion, state and law]. Revista Direito Mackenzie (in Portuguese). 3 (2). doi:10.5935/2317-2622/direitomackenzie.v3n27249 (inactive January 24, 2026). ISSN 2317-2622.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2026 (link)
  5. ↑ Giumbelli, Emerson (2002). O fim da religião: dilemas da liberdade religiosa no Brasil e na França [The end of religion: dilemmas of religious freedom in Brazil and France] (in Brazilian Portuguese). CNPq/Pronex. p. 246. ISBN 978-85-85115-17-3.
  6. ↑ Ranquetat Júnior, Cesar Alberto (2016). Laicidade à brasileira: estudo sobre a controvérsia em torno da presença de símbolos religiosos em espaços públicos [Brazilian Secularism: A Study on the Controversy Surrounding the Presence of Religious Symbols in Public Spaces] (1a edição ed.). Jundiaí, SP: Paco Editorial. ISBN 978-85-462-0491-5. OCLC 988578517.
  7. ↑ Rezende, Maria Paula Lara (April 26, 2021). Crucifixos em repartições públicas: os limites da garantia de liberdade religiosa no Estado laico brasileiro [Crucifixes in public offices: the limits of the guarantee of religious freedom in the Brazilian secular state] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Editora Dialética. ISBN 978-65-5956-871-0.
  8. ↑ Vieira Ferreira, Miguel (1891). "Cristo No Júri" [Christ in the Jury]. Scribd (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on November 18, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2026.
  9. ↑ Ranquetat, Cesar (June 2014). "A imagem de Cristo nos parlamentos" [The image of Christ in parliaments]. Religião & Sociedade (in Portuguese). 34: 94–121. doi:10.1590/S0100-85872014000100005. ISSN 1984-0438.
  10. ↑ Jornal Idade Nova. July 29, 1948.
  11. ↑ "STF mantém uso de símbolos religiosos em prédios públicos como manifestação histórico-cultural" [The Supreme Court upholds the use of religious symbols in public buildings as a historical and cultural manifestation]. Supreme Federal Court (in Brazilian Portuguese). November 27, 2024. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
  12. ↑ Moura, De; Silva, Carlos André (2024). "A formação do laicismo em Portugal Afonso Costa e o anticlericalismo no início da República (1890-1914)" [The Formation of Secularism in Portugal: Afonso Costa and Anticlericalism at the Beginning of the Republic (1890-1914)]. Varia Historia (in Portuguese). 40 e24027. doi:10.1590/0104-87752024v40e24027. ISSN 0104-8775.
  13. ↑ Martins, Hermínio (2018). Reflexões sobre as mudanças de regime em Portugal no século XX: um estudo transcronológico e transnacional [Reflections on regime change in Portugal in the 20th century: a transchronological and transnational study] (in Portuguese). Imprensa de Ciências Sociais. ISBN 978-972-671-466-8.
  14. ↑ Gonçalves, Marcos (October 10, 2014). "Afinidades republicanas na era do anticlericalismo: Brasil, Portugal e a "questão jesuítica" de novembro de 1910 (Republican affinities in the anticlericalism period...)". Cadernos de História (in Portuguese). 15 (23): 63–87. doi:10.5752/P.2237-8871.2014v15n23p63. ISSN 2237-8871.
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