2023-07-12 18:04:15
All over the world, numerous religions and popular beliefs claim for themselves the prerogative of contact with the supernatural, which is largely subjective in terms of personal experience with regard to the exercise of faith, which is why, historically, religious quackery and false miracles have always they were part of the human mystique.
Even though this reality is a subjective matter and, therefore, difficult to measure objectively, federal deputy Capitão Augusto (PL-SP) believes that the State should interfere in this matter, criminalizing what it considers to be charlatanism and commercial exploitation of the population by of religious organizations and leaders.
It was with this in mind that the parliamentarian created Bill 1341/23, which, according to the text, “provides for the criminalization of religious charlatanism and establishes penalties for the practice of false miracles and financial exploitation related to faith.”
The PL establishes as a crime, for example, “claiming, without proof, to possess supernatural, divine or spiritual gifts with the aim of obtaining financial or
any other nature”.
It also makes punishable anyone who “promotes, publicizes or performs false miracles, cures or other supposedly supernatural manifestations in order to obtain financial or any other advantages”.
State interference
In practice, Captain Augusto’s PL imposes on the State, precisely in the form of the Judiciary, the responsibility of judging, for example, whether a religious leader who claims to have received a spiritual gift from God would, in fact, be speaking the truth about this supernatural experience or not.
The PL also suggests that the State should also judge whether offerings and tithes, various donations, donated to religious leaders, would be part of those who wish to “obtain financial advantages”, or if they are the result of the free and spontaneous will of those who really believe in something , even if impossible to prove.
If approved, the proposal will affect not only Christian, evangelical churches, but every leader and follower of beliefs that preach, teach and promote practices such as divination; future visions; cures by alternative means such as florals, acupuncture and others of oriental origin; also those who claim to have healing powers through the incorporation of spirits, or who make promises of financial and loving success through the making of offerings.
In its justification – which can be read in full here – however, Deputy Captain Augusto guarantees that people, according to him “vulnerable”, must be protected by the State, so that they do not fall into the trap of religious charlatanism.
“The present bill aims to curb ignoble conduct that must have adequate reprimand in our legal system, it is religious charlatanism practiced by those who take advantage of people’s faith and vulnerability, claiming false miracles to exploit the faithful financially”, says the text.
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