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Secularism as non-theocracy. Brazil's confessional religious education in public schools.

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Title: Secularism as non-theocracy. Brazil's confessional religious education in public schools.
Authors: Rudas, Sebastián1 (AUTHOR) sebastian.rudas@fgv.br
Source: British Journal of Religious Education. Jun2026, Vol. 48 Issue 3, p412-423. 12p.
Subject Terms: *Religious education, *Public schools, *Public education, *Citizenship, Secularism, Democracy, Appellate courts
Geographic Terms: Brazil
Abstract: This article examines the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court's ruling on the constitutionality of confessional religious education (CRE) in public schools. It argues that the Court's endorsement of CRE marks a significant departure from a republican conception of secularism, traditionally associated with the role of public education in forming democratic citizens. The article contends that the Court redefines secularism in minimal terms – as non-theocracy – thus allowing public institutions to support religious instruction, even at the expense of the ideal of democratic citizenship. Four core arguments underpinning the decision are reconstructed and critically assessed: the facultative, constitutive, basic rights, and tradition arguments. Using the tools of normative political philosophy, the article demonstrates that even rigorous reconstructions of these arguments fail to meet minimal standards of public justification. In doing so, it challenges the notion that CRE can be reconciled with the values of a constitutional democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of British Journal of Religious Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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  Data: Secularism as non-theocracy. Brazil's confessional religious education in public schools.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Religious+education%22">Religious education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Public+schools%22">Public schools</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Public+education%22">Public education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Citizenship%22">Citizenship</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Secularism%22">Secularism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Democracy%22">Democracy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Appellate+courts%22">Appellate courts</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Brazil%22">Brazil</searchLink>
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  Data: This article examines the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court's ruling on the constitutionality of confessional religious education (CRE) in public schools. It argues that the Court's endorsement of CRE marks a significant departure from a republican conception of secularism, traditionally associated with the role of public education in forming democratic citizens. The article contends that the Court redefines secularism in minimal terms – as non-theocracy – thus allowing public institutions to support religious instruction, even at the expense of the ideal of democratic citizenship. Four core arguments underpinning the decision are reconstructed and critically assessed: the facultative, constitutive, basic rights, and tradition arguments. Using the tools of normative political philosophy, the article demonstrates that even rigorous reconstructions of these arguments fail to meet minimal standards of public justification. In doing so, it challenges the notion that CRE can be reconciled with the values of a constitutional democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of British Journal of Religious Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/01416200.2026.2615113
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 12
        StartPage: 412
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Religious education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Public schools
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Public education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Citizenship
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Secularism
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Democracy
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Appellate courts
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Brazil
        Type: general
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      – TitleFull: Secularism as non-theocracy. Brazil's confessional religious education in public schools.
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            – D: 01
              M: 06
              Text: Jun2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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