O DESENVOLVIMENTO HISTÓRICO-CONSTITUCIONAL DA LAICIDADE ESTATAL E A QUESTÃO DO USO DE SÍMBOLOS RELIGIOSOS EM ESFERA PÚBLICA NO BRASIL

Abstract

The historical construction of Brazil as a nation is the result of multiple colonization and immigration, which brought with it its cultural and religious roots, implanting them in Brazilian soil. Even in the face of the imposition of Roman Catholicism in a certain period as an official religion in the country, historical development has always shown that there is a diversity of worship. Under this scenario, the concept of secularism was being constructed and affirmed in the country's regulations. This process is most evident throughout the Constitutions. One problem is precisely the questioning that arises from the use of religious symbols in official environments of the public sphere, such as the Christian crucifix. The question that arises is: does this violate state secularity? The hypothesis is that the use resulting from the consolidated custom and the outrageous display of a religious symbol in the public sphere must be distinguished. In order to try to clarify and unveil possible answers to this question, the present research was developed in the exploratory modality, with a qualitative methodological approach. The methods used were bibliographic survey, theoretical research, document analysis and jurisprudence, where the role of the Judiciary Power in the interpretation and application of legislation is debated. The work is justified by the fact that the issue provokes heated theoretical, legal and academic discussions, without there being an official position of the Supreme Federal Court on the specific theme of the use of religious symbols, being that in this organ of the public sphere there is the use crucifix. The general objective was to present an overview of the historical development of secularism throughout the Brazilian Constitutions as a basis for the discussion about the use of religious symbols in the public sphere. The specific objectives were: to point out the normative devices that evidenced the historical development of secularism in the texts of the Constitutions of Brazil; rediscuss the concepts of religion and the public sphere in the thought of Jürgen Habermas; to analyze the arguments of a paradigmatic decision of the National Council of Justice specific on the use of religious symbols in organs of the Judiciary. The results show that the absence of a specific judicial decision by the Supreme Federal Court on the use of religious symbols in public bodies in Brazil, even in the face of several other decisions that guarantee that Brazil is a secular country, still causes some insecurity in this area.