The secularization of institutions has been a recurrent theme in the social sciences over the last few decades, largely as a result of its conceptual complexity, a fact which has led to the development of different ways of looking at the relationships between religion and other social spheres established throughout history. One of these relationships is the one that exists between religion and politics. "Secularization" refers to the increased autonomy of different spheres of society in relation to religion. Aspects of autonomization of the political sphere in relation to religion are subjected to analysis, taking discussions of religious freedom carried out on the 19th century Brazilian political scene into consideration. Within this context, papal patronage and ultramontanist ideas were intimately related to the continuities and ruptures identified within the field of political ideas, considering what religious themes were at that time. Although clerical presence within the political activities of the period was notable, with the extinction of papal patronage and the advent of the Republic, religious discourse migrated from that sphere, now manifesting itself only within the strictly ecclesiastic environment and through proselytism. The social configuration that emerged in this light enables us to identify clear signals of secularization of the political sphere toward the end of the 19th century. The present argument contributes to clarifying the theme of secularization in Brazil. With the separation of Church and State and with the decreasing presence of the clergy within official decision-making processes, the political sphere underwent secularization. This in turn allows us to locate Brazilian socio-cultural experience alongside other socio-cultural experiences that can be considered as components of Western modernity.
Secularization; Imperial Brazilian Parliament; Religious Freedom; Ecclesiastic Authority
