21/11/2023 – 18:37
Unanimously, the judges of the Special Body of the Court of Justice of São Paulo declared unconstitutional a rule of the Municipal Chamber of Araraquara, in the interior of São Paulo, which provided for the mandatory reading of biblical verses at the beginning of each parliamentary session, in addition to the retention of a copy of the Bible open during work.
The magistrates saw ‘an offense against the constitutional principles of equality and public interest applicable to Public Administration’. Judge Luís Fernando Nishi, rapporteur, highlighted the guarantee of religious freedom provided for in the Constitution, remembering the need for the Public Power to remain neutral in relation to different denominations and beliefs.
The decision responds to a request from the Attorney General’s Office, which argued that ‘it is not up to the public authorities to create a preference for a certain religion such as the reading of a biblical text in Chamber sessions aimed exclusively at followers of Christian principles’.
The Public Ministry of São Paulo also noted that the article in the Araraquara Chamber’s internal regulations clashes with the precept of state secularism, ‘offending the plurality of beliefs by establishing a preference for a certain religion’.
“The Brazilian State, by establishing itself as secular, honors equality and freedom of religion, even enabling the absence of creeds, and it is not up to any state entity to proceed in such a way as to privilege any religion to the detriment of others”, he maintains the Prosecutor’s Office.
WITH THE WORD, THE CHAMBER OF ARARAQUARA
The TJ’s decision refers to the mandatory presence of an open Bible in the Plenary, the session being declared open or closed “in the name of God” and the reading of six verses from the Bible at the opening of the session. This does not prevent the councilor from individually, or voluntarily, reading an excerpt from the Bible in his speech, if he so wishes. The Chamber already complied with this decision in last week’s session, immediately after receiving notification of the result of the sentence and will do so again in today’s session.
Words from the president of the Chamber, councilor Paulo Landim, in the last session: “The court’s decision has been fulfilled. We will analyze whether there is an appeal, however, it is already being fulfilled.”
The action is authored by the Public Prosecutor’s Office and should reach all municipalities in the state. São Carlos, a nearby municipality, was also called and stopped reading since June.
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