Legal Framework on freedom of religion and actual application
In Portugal, the constitution guarantees religious freedom. Article 41 (2) says: “No one shall be persecuted, deprived of rights or exempted from civic obligations or duties because of their convictions or religious observance.” Conscientious objection is guaranteed by law (Article 41,6).
Under Article 41 (4), “Churches and other religious communities shall be separate from the state and free to organise themselves and to perform their ceremonies and their worship.”
Article 41 (5) goes on to guarantee “freedom to teach any religion within the denomination in question and to use appropriate media for the pursuit of its activities.”
According to Article 43 (2), the state “shall not lay down educational and cultural programmes in accordance with any philosophical, aesthetic, political, ideological or religious guidelines.” Paragraph 3 of the same article states, “Public education shall not be denominational.”
Article 51 (3) bans political parties from employing “names that contain expressions which are directly related to any religion or church, or emblems that can be confused with national or religious symbols.”
The constitution also requires trade unions to “be independent of employers, the state, and religious denominations” (Article 55,4).
Lastly, Article 59 (1) protects workers” rights “without distinction as to age, sex, race, citizenship, territory of origin, religion, political or ideological beliefs.”
Relations between the Portuguese Republic and the Holy See are regulated by the Concordat of 18 May 2004. The relations with the other religious faiths are governed by the Religious Freedom Law (Law No. 16/2001), which envisages the possibility for the state to enter into different agreements with Churches and religious communities based in Portugal (Article 45).
According to the aforementioned legislation, minority faith groups based in Portugal may, like the Catholic Church, celebrate religious marriages with the same effects as a civil marriage (Article 19,1). Spiritual and religious assistance in the armed and security forces, prisons and public hospitals is also ensured by this law (Article 13,1).
In certain situations, faith groups can obtain some tax benefits. Taxpayers can choose to have 0,5 percent of their taxes devolved to a registered religious group. Although no Church or religion is funded by the state, the state can support the construction of churches (and, occasionally, non-Catholic temples), as well as support social and welfare works.
Under Article 52 of Law No. 16/2001, a Religious Freedom Committee (CLR) was created as an independent advisory body to both parliament and government to monitor the application of the law itself.
Incidents and developments
In the reporting period, there were no significant incidents involving places of worship in Portugal. Some issues related to religious freedom have gained prominence in the Portuguese media, although religious freedom, social recognition of the importance of religions and favouring dialogue between religions is a lived reality in Portugal.
Prospects for religious freedom
In the period under review there were no significant cases of discrimination on religious grounds or abuses of religious freedom that could be attributable to the state or non-state entities. Notwithstanding this, certain phenomena in Western societies have reached Portugal, namely the progressive marginalisation of religion in public life and the legalisation of certain practices, such as euthanasia, which are contrary to the principles of several religions. It remains to be seen whether these trends will continue and the impact on conscientious objection. No other major social, economic, or political tensions are expected to affect the right to religious freedom in the near future, and the prospects for this human right remain positive.
Portugal