Is The Secularist State a “Civil Religion”?

UMA ANÁLISE CRÍTICA DA JURISPRUDÊNCIA EUROPEIA SOBRE SÍMBOLOS RELIGIOSOS NO ESPAÇO PÚBLICO E OS LIMITES DA LIBERDADE DE CRENÇA

Abstract

In this paper, we examine the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on the use of religious symbols in the public square. We aim to verify how secular neutrality, as stated in the rulings, subsidizes the existence of a "civil religion" and how it impacts religious freedom fundamentals. This is why Dahlab v. Switzerland, Sahin v. Turkey, Lautsi v. Italy, and S.A.S v. France are analyzed according to the grounds offered by the European Convention on Human Rights. We discuss Marramo's secularism and Finnis' religion as a basic human good on the basis of a wide bibliographic review. Using our observations as a basis for our conclusion, we concluded that secularist political commitments lead to the consolidation of a "civil religion" at the expense of free expression of religion in the public square.