This article contains parts of the book: Religious Law: Practical and Theoretical Questions, by Thiago Rafael Vieira and Jean Marques Regina, published with permission.
Can a country like Brazil, with such an interesting and benevolent model of secularism, open up the possibility of asking a question like the title of this article?Yes, dear reader. Unfortunately, we have municipalities led by political agents who sub-invest the concept of ownership provided for in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Brazil of 1988, and which has no qualms about respecting the precious principle of religious freedom: we have situations that jeopardize the exercise of worship. , which consists of a genuine shame (a fact expressly prohibited by CRFB / 88) to our much-loved lay state.
- First.
- Brazilian law enshrines what doctrine consolidates as a social function of property; it is a principle that seeks to prevent the waste of goods and ensure their good use.
- In order to serve the interests of all in the country.
- Article 5(XXIII).
- And in relation to the general principles of economic activity (Art.
- 170.
- Point III).
- Both of our Maior Charter.
- We will find determination involving the healthy use of property.
- Reconciled with the principle of private property.
- (Article 170(II).
It is through this constitutional conception that the public administration, in its competences, creates the mechanisms for maintaining order at the national level and especially at the local level, through the municipal master plan, whose function is:
. 1]
In order not to take credit for being a measure that undermines the individual freedom of each person to dispose of his property as he sees fit, thus contaminating such an essential principle of natural law, we address the issue on the basis of the current legal order. . . The public administration, within the framework of the municipalities, works in this way, organizing the property with the delimitation of the areas, so that the municipality has an organized infrastructure, allowing the proper functioning of traffic, promoting peace and related (if only in the journal). An example of a master plan is that of the municipality of Porto Alegre, to which we cite an excerpt of its structure, as an example:
PART OF URBAN ENVIRONMENTAL DEVELOPMENT TITLE I PRINCIPLES ART. Democratic management, through the participation of the population and representative associations of the different segments of the community in the formulation, implementation and monitoring of urban development plans, programmes and projects; (Modified by L. C. No. 646 of July 22, 2010). II? Promote quality of life and the environment, reducing inequality and social exclusion; Ⅲ. ?Integrate public and private actions through performance programs and projects; Ⅳ?Cultural enrichment of the city through diversification, attractiveness and competitiveness; Ⅴ?Strengthen the role of public authorities in promoting financing strategies to implement plans, programmes and projects in conditions of maximum efficiency; Seen?The articulation of the city’s development strategies in the metropolitan regional context of Porto Alegre; Vii?Strengthening public regulation of urban land through the use of redistributive instruments of urban income and land and control of the use and occupation of urban space; [?] [2]
So far, there are no objections. The municipal master plan is a good tool of local organization The big problem is when the city council, or the mayor, or any public official, tries to prevent the construction of churches or temples of any cult, and justifies the master plan!just as we have incredible master plans, we will encounter municipalities that carry out planning based on the violation of religious freedom, using a public instrument to try to legitimize a claim totally breached by the prohibition of shame for the exercise of worship.
By delimiting areas where it is forbidden to build temples of any cult, or by creating requirements that are not enshrined in the Constitution, we have violated religious freedom, freedom of worship and awareness of shame that is not allowed in the Federal Republic of Brazil. .
Simply put, some Brazilian citizens have passed municipal laws prohibiting the creation of religious temples in certain parts of the city, in total contempt of the national legal system and several international human rights treaties, some even with the force of the constitutional norm, as perceived by the legal order. Article 5(3) of the Brazilian Constitution [3].
In the sense of technical analysis, when the Municipality acts in this way, it places a supreme national interest, under the domain of an individualistic interest, which is ultimately in the hierarchy of priorities of the articles of the Constitution and the Law. International provisions, which guarantee religious freedom and recognize it as a summary expression of the dignity of the human person.
It is not credible that the constitutional exercise of worship is subject to a national law of local interest. The culture and religious phenomenon itself, regardless of belief or professed faith, cannot be limited, embarrassed, or made unfeasible by municipal, state, or federal law. It is an affront to one of the fundamental human rights, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A norm cannot restrict religious freedom derived from the dignity of the human person under the pretext of public order or good customs, in fact under any pretext [4].
The essential purpose of a religious organization is the exercise of faith. The place of worship is an extension of some people’s belief. For Christianity, the function of the temple is to promote communion among the brothers, centralize the services for all to participate, in addition to being a place of promotion of biblical teaching and others, for other religions the place of worship has its value for the reasons that match its religious denomination, in all these cases an internal law and much less a state law The federal law , does NOT have jurisdiction to disobey the constitutional imposition of freedom of belief and worship. In trying to avoid the consolidation of a cult constituency, religious sentiment is fatally offended.
[1] VIEIRA, Thiago Rafael. REGINA, Jean Marques. Religious law: practical and theoretical issues. 2. ed. tour. ampl. ?Porto Alegre: Concerdia, 2019. p. 285.
[2] See the comprehensive urban environmental development master plan at UDSP. Available in:
[3] VIEIRA, Thiago Rafael. REGINA, Jean Marques. Religious law: practical and theoretical questions. 2. ed. tour. ampl. ? Porto Alegre: Concerdia, 2019. p. 286.
[4] Ibid.