Legal framework on freedom of religion and actual application
Article 5 of the constitution of Uruguay[1] guarantees freedom of religion and establishes a strict separation between religious organisations and the State. It also recognises the Catholic Church’s ownership of all the places of worship “built wholly or partly from funds of the National Treasury, with the sole exception of chapels dedicated for use by asylums, hospitals, prisons, or other public establishments.”
Article 5 also exempts religious groups “from all forms of taxes” on their places of worship, provided they request such an exemption from the Ministry of Education and Culture and it is granted. Law No. 12.802 further grants tax exemptions to Catholic dioceses.[2]
Article 68 of the constitution guarantees freedom of education and affirms that parents or guardians have the right to choose their children’s school or ward.[3] This right is regulated by General Education Law No. 18437,[4] which reiterates the guarantee of freedom of education (Article 10) and establishes that state education shall be governed by the principle of secularism (Article 15). Religion is not taught in state schools,[5] although the law does not prohibit religious instruction elsewhere.[6]
The Penal Code criminalises incitement to hatred, whether through contempt, moral or physical violence, or acts of violence against individuals on religious grounds (Article 149). It also penalises attacks on places of worship, the destruction of religious objects, or the hindering of religious ceremonies (Articles 304 and 305).[7] Article 306 makes it an offence to insult clergy or people who profess religious beliefs.[8]
Article 10 of the Abortion Law (No. 18987) recognises that institutions may object to performing abortions, but requires them to agree with the Ministry of Public Health on how users of the Integrated National Health System can access procedures established by law.[9]
Article 11 upholds the right of doctors and healthcare workers to refuse participation in such procedures on grounds of conscientious objection.[10]
Article 40 of the Code of Medical Ethics, which has the force of law, recognises doctors’ right to conscientious objection to abortion on grounds of personal belief, but requires them to refer patients to other medical colleagues. Article 41 applies the same principle to sterilisation.[11]
A Code of Military Ethics and Conduct and the Regulations of Military Ethics and Conduct Tribunals were promulgated in September 2021. They include provisions allowing military personnel to act in accordance with their conscience (Article 10b).[12]
Religious holidays in Uruguay are not referred to by their Christian names. Christmas is designated “Family Day”, the Day of the Immaculate Conception is “Beach Day,” and Holy Week is “Tourism Week”.[13] In 2018, Secularism Day (Día de la laicidad) was instituted.[14] In 2020, the religiously unaffiliated population surpassed the number of Christians, making Uruguay the only country in the Americas without a Christian majority.[15]
There are currently two draft laws in Congress aimed at protecting religious freedom. One, on freedom of conscience and ideology, was introduced in 2015 but has been stalled since 2020.[16] [17] The other, on the right of religious minorities to observe their holidays, was approved by the Senate in 2024.[18]
Incidents and developments
Several incidents during the period under review affected religious sentiment.
The government of outgoing President Luis Lacalle Pou actively condemned the Holocaust and antisemitism. In January 2023, it issued a statement on the day of Remembrance of Holocaust Victims[19] calling for tolerance,[20] and the following year it participated in a commemoration of the Night of Broken Glass, the antisemitic pogroms carried out by the Nazi regime.[21]
In March 2023, the Department of Religious Freedom of the Uruguayan Union requested that the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) reschedule the teacher’s accreditation exam to avoid conflict with Adventist Sabbath observance. The MEC accepted the request and fixed the 2025 exam dates for 26 and 27 February, thereby ensuring respect for religious freedom.[22]
In April 2023, unidentified individuals vandalised the parish church of San Pedro, in the city of Durazno, destroying religious images from Italy that were more than 100 years old.[23]
In November 2023, the “Night of the Temples” took place for the fifth time. Several religious confessions opened their doors to present their heritage. The Catholic, Anglican and Evangelical Churches, as well as the Jewish community, all participated.[24]
In December 2023, the Wage Council for the food sector, in addition to adjusting salaries, agreed to prohibit discrimination for religious grounds, among others.[25]
Since the Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel on 7 October 2023, Uruguay has seen a rise in antisemitic expression, including swastikas, slogans and threats directed at Jews in educational centres[26] [27] and at a Holocaust memorial.[28] In March 2024, the Central Israeli Committee of Uruguay (CCIU) denounced five women who carried an image of a severed woman’s head impaled on a spear during the International Women’s Day march on 8 March. The head bore a Star of David, a Jewish religious symbol. The organisers described it as artistic expression, but a CCIU representative stated that “artistic expression and free speech also have limits, and the limit is offending others”.[29]
In March 2024, the National Institute for Human Rights and the Ombudsman’s Working Group on Afro-descendent religions held a discussion on discrimination faced by practitioners of Umbanda and other Afro-descendent religions in the country.[30]
In April 2024, the State Office of Strategic Intelligence, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and the Latin American Jewish Congress held a roundtable on awareness and capacity-building to address violent extremism arising from xenophobia, racism and religious hatred.[31]
In July 2024, the draft law on “Festivities of Religious Minorities: right of observance” advanced[32] and was approved by the Senate.[33] This law recognises international guidelines on the right to commemorate religious holidays, applying them to all religious groups. It further establishes that the right must be respected in employment, both in the private and public sectors. The CCIU and the Seventh-day Adventist Church supported the project,[34] but Afro-descendent groups criticised the use of the term “minority” as condescending, noting that many Catholics – not considered a minority – had hardly ever attended Church. Critics argued that Afro-descendent and indigenous groups had suffered persecution for centuries and claimed that the draft law perpetuated discriminatory holidays. [35] The Frente Amplio party opposed approval, stating that from their perspective “the secular State is the best guarantor” in this issue, and that therefore there should be no religious holidays, for minorities or for the majority. In reply, Senator Javier García argued that Uruguay often confused laicismo (secularism in its ideological sense) with laicidad (the State’s neutrality towards religion) and that religion was in the DNA of the State.[36]
In August 2024, the Secretariat for Human Rights commemorated the Day of Victims of Religious Based Violence, aimed at remembering victims and raising awareness of the importance of religious freedom and respect for all beliefs. [37]
In October 2024, Uruguay participated in the 23rd Latin American Congress on Religious Freedom, held at the University of Notre Dame in the United States. Senator Carmen Asiaín Pereira presented a report on the challenges and developments concerning religious freedom in Uruguay.[38]
In November 2024, a group of parents accused the director of a rural school of violating the principle of secularism. The complaint alleged that the headmistress compelled children to pray and forbade them from playing football, claiming: “sport is the devil’s work”.[39]
That same month, the Bishops’ Conference greeted the newly elected president and vice-president, Yamandú Orsi and Carolina Cosse, stating that the Catholic Church in Uruguay wished to “care for the soul of our people,” and called for a society marked by greater justice and solidarity, where people could live lives full of meaning and open to transcendence.[40]
In January 2025, a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church sued the Universidad de la República, claiming the right not to attend exams on Saturdays.[41]
Prospects for freedom of religion
The period under review was marked by an increase in antisemitism, although the government took part in the remembrance of the Holocaust and condemned hate speech. Secularism is part of the national identity of Uruguay, and related issues continue to generate public debate. There were also initiatives raising awareness of the importance of freedom of belief. Overall, the situation remained stable and the prospects for religious freedom remain unchanged.
Uruguay