Brazil's banknotes praise God, for now
In an article in the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo a few weeks ago it's mentioned that Brazilian prosecutor Jefferson Aparecido Dias has filed a complaint about the nations banknotes and demands that everyone of them is replaced. The reason for this claim? The sentence "Deus Seja Louvado" (God Be Praised) which appears on the banknotes from Brazil.
His argument is that the Brazilian state is a secular one and should refrain itself from any religious manifestation. He does acknowledge that most of Brazil is Christian but he compared it to the situation where all of a sudden Praise Allah, Praise Buddah or God Doesn't Exist would appear on the banknotes. People would be angry then, so why not protect the minority of non-Christians in Brazil in this case?
The bank’s response to the prosecutor mentioned that the state, "not being atheist, anticlerical or antireligious, can legitimately make a reference to the existence of a higher being, a divinity, as long as, in doing so, it does not make an allusion to a specific religious doctrine."
Geen reacties