Abstract:
Laicity is a fundamental principle for the guarantee of democratic ethics, since it promotes the recognition and protection of the social, moral, cultural and religious diversity of a society. Individual freedoms are modern rights concerning the dissociation between state power and religious dogma, in order to guarantee freedom of conscience and expression, fundamental to human dignity. Psychology has historically affirmed a commitment to democratic ethics and human rights, being an important political and social actor because it participates in the Brazilian redemocratization process through its insertion in several public policies guaranteeing social rights. Confronted by the incidence of religious discourse of fundamentalist and antidemocratic bias in the current Brazilian political scene, Psychology is a target of contemporary fundamentalist offensives against the ethical norms of the profession, and it also suffers internal tensions in the logic of claiming a “Christian psychology “. Challenged by this complex scenario, the system of Psychology Councils has produced benchmarks for the defense of secularism and the rejection of fundamentalisms, and is currently a strategic actor in the defense of Brazilian democracy.
Keywords:
Religious Fundamentalism; Laicity; Democracy; Political Psychology