THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE STATE AND THE RELIGIOUS BELIEFS OF CITIZENS IN THE CONSTITUTION OF 1978: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, PLURALISM AND SECULARITY

The Constitution of 1978 formulated the relationship between the State and the religious beliefs of its citizens around three fundamental principles or categories: religious freedom, pluralism and secularism. It is frequently understood that religious freedom and secularity are in a position of dialectic confrontation that can only be overcome with the supremacy or subordination of one to the other-The thesis upheld here is that, at least at a theoretical level, no such confrontation exists, because each of these categories occupies its own and differentiated field. Thus, religious freedom is a fundamental right that, as such, is proper to the person; pluralism is an inherent characteristic of democratic societies, and secularism is predicated by and is binding solely on the so-called State apparatus.