In Portugal, church and state have been separated by law since 1911, and religious liberty - under the principles of liberty of conscience, worship, religion, equality, and non-discrimination for religious reasons - has been strongly guaranteed by the Constitution since 1976. However, it was not until 2001 that the state legally recognized similar rights, including the right to stop working on the believed day of religious observation, religious marriage with civil effects, or spiritual assistance in hospitals, for religious minorities. Religious minorities are people who are a part of a religion or denomination that is small in comparison with those conferred to the Catholic church. Since 2001, with the approval of the religious liberty law, citizens and communities have enjoyed an open and tolerant legal frame to live, practice, and share their beliefs.

Celebrating the 20^th anniversary of this law, the Portuguese Religious Liberty Commission, an official entity that defends and upholds the law content, and the High Commissariat for Migrations, a governmental agency that promotes inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue, organized a conference detailing the history, achievements, and the future of the religious liberty developments in Portugal during this period. The conference included participation by the President of the Republic of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa (speaker in the picture), the Minister of State and Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the Minister of Justice (picture left), and other official entities, religious leaders, and academic leaders. President Marcelo highlighted the central role of the Constitution and religious law in Portugal, which separates church and state and respects everyone’s individual right to believe or not to believe, to practice their faith, and to share their religious beliefs. He also added that it is important to bring the spirit of religious liberty into practice, affirming that “we all should do everything in our power to overcome intolerance, incomprehension, discrimination, and injustice”, adding that there is still much to do, “day after day, to work [toward] a more tolerant, inclusive and generous society”.

This occasion was also an opportunity to recognize the contribution of José Vera Jardim to the existence and enforcement of religious liberty law in Portugal. Vera Jardim, 82, a recipient of the Jean Nussbaum/Eleanor Roosevelt Award from AIDLR (International Association for the Defense of Religious Liberty), initiated the discussion on the creation of a religious liberty document while acting as Minister of Justice, proposed it while a Member of Parliament, and is presently the president of the Religious Liberty Commission.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Portugal was represented by the Union President, Pastor António Amorim, along with several leaders who hold significant administrative positions within the Church and who have relationships with the state and local interfaith groups. Paulo Macedo, Portuguese Union and European Union Division Public Affairs and Religious Liberty Director, participated in the panel of speakers representing the Church. He addressed the opportunities and challenges of religious liberty law in Portugal by highlighting a general principle and some concrete exemplar cases.

“I propose to us all (…) that we always ask ourselves a question, in a future revision of this law, in approval of any document, in every decision to be made... a question that challenges us and makes us reflect, leading to conscious consideration, repositioning this principle as a human dignity imperative and as a fundamental right. This question is: ‘Does this action contribute to preserving and expanding freedom?’” 

Religious liberty is a principle rooted in the Seventh-day Adventist message and actions. The Public Affairs and Religious Liberty (PARL) department and AIDLR are the direct instruments by which the Adventist Church intervenes in the defense and promotion of religious liberty.

This article was originally published on the Inter-European Division’s news site