Chile accepts a proposal in favor of religious freedomChile: religious freedom at stakeChile: triumph for religious freedomOn September 2, 2024, the Chilean Ministry of Education, surprising the Catholic Church and other religious denominations, issued a decree - No. 115 - to change important aspects of religious education in the country's schools, modifying Supreme Decree No. 924 of 1983. It was sent to the General Comptroller of the Republic for "toma de razón" (approval).
Autonomy of denominations
The Episcopal Conference presented a written with your objections The National Committee of Evangelical Education (CONAEV) supported this request and it is expected that other religious leaders will do the same. It is argued that the new Decree harms religious freedom and seriously affects the autonomy of all religious denominations to determine the suitability of those who can teach religion. This, because it establishes a procedure in which the State would intervene in case of revocation or denial of the certificate of suitability, reviewing the decisions of the religious authorities.
According to the arguments presented, the State must recognize the autonomy of the denominations to regulate their own affairs, including determining the suitability of the teachers who teach religion, which is a fundamental part of religious freedom, the right of association and education. He specified that teaching religion is not equivalent to teaching another subject.
Suitability of Religion teachers
According to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, this freedom includes the teaching of their doctrines, implying the power of the denominations to decide who is qualified to transmit their beliefs. Decree No. 115, however, prevents religious denominations from jointly requiring a professional degree and a certificate of suitability, making it impossible to make a comprehensive judgment of the elements necessary to evaluate religion teachers. This change would not only denaturalize the certificate of suitability, but also limits the right of denominations to guarantee the doctrinal and moral rectitude of those who teach the faith.
The Decree establishes that the certificate of suitability must be requested only once, making it permanent, which would be incompatible with the mutable nature of suitability in doctrinal and moral terms. In addition, new deadlines and requirements are granted that oblige religious authorities to respond and justify denials of certificates within a period of 30 days, which, according to the Conference, is an undue intervention of the State in the time required by these denominations to evaluate teachers, severely limiting their autonomy.
The Church's application seeks a comprehensive review of the decree in light of the ConstitutionThe Court of Appeals, in accordance with international treaties and laws that recognize and guarantee religious freedom, so that it does not take note of the aforementioned Decree and returns it to the Ministry of Education.
