Congress
100 YEARS OF CHURCH-STATE SEPARATION IN CHILE
The Value of Beliefs in Latin American Democracies
PROVISIONAL PROGRAM – AUGUST 28, 2025
Tuesday, October 14
18:00 – 19:30 hrs. Inaugural Session
Juan Carlos de la Llera (President UC)
Gabriel Bocksang (Derecho UC)
María Elena Pimstein (Director, Centro UC Derecho y Religión)
Inaugural Conference: Nazila Ghanea, Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion or Belief, University of Oxford
19:30 – 20:30 hrs. Welcome Cocktail
Location: Aula Magna Manuel José Irarrázaval, Casa Central, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Wednesday, October 15
09:30 – 11:00 hrs. Plenary Session
School Education and Religion in Latin America
Speaker: Nicole Garnett (U. de Notre Dame, United States)
Comments by: Edgar Stuardo Ralón (Inter-American Commission on Human Rights – Guatemala) and Javier García Oliva (U. de Manchester, United Kingdom)
Moderator: Ana María Celis (UC Chile)
Location: Aula Magna Manuel José Irarrázaval, Casa Central, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
11:00 – 11:30 hrs. Coffee Break
11:30 – 13:00 hrs. Parallel Sessions
1. Tensions in education regarding religious freedom
Elena Antón, The right to education and religious freedom in Latin America (U. Rey Juan Carlos de Madrid, Spain)
María Paz Madrid, Religious freedom in the educational context: between Scylla (19th century) and Charybdis (20th century) (U. de Notre Dame, United States – U. de Santiago de Chile)
TBC
Moderator: Carmen Domínguez (UC Chile)
2. Secularism, between the public space of religion and the privatization of religion
Gonzalo Flores, Institutional relations between the Peruvian State and religious organizations in terms of collaboration (U. Católica de San Pablo, Perú)
Marcos González, The management of freedom of belief in Latin American democracies (U. Autónoma de Madrid, Spain)
Alejandra Ovalle, Institutional relations State – religious organizations in Chile (UC Chile)
Moderator: Paulina Eyzaguirre (UC Chile)
13:15 – 14:45 hrs. Lunch (Centro de Extensión UC)
15:00 – 16:30 hrs. Plenary Session
Institutional relations between the State and religious entities
Rodrigo Alves (Universidad Federal de Uberlandia, Brazil)
Miguel Ángel Fernández (UC Chile)
Scott Isaacson (Brigham Young University, United States)
María José Valero (Universidad Villanueva, Spain)
Moderator: Carlos Salinas (P. Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile)
Location: Aula Magna Manuel José Irarrázaval, Casa Central, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
16:30 – 17:00 hrs. Coffee Break
17:00 – 18:30 hrs. Parallel Sessions
1. Jurisprudence regarding secularism and religious freedom
María Paz Arteaga, Towards a concept of minister of worship based on Chilean jurisprudence (UC Chile)
Juan Navarro Floria, The religious factor in the recent jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of the Argentine Republic (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Argentina)
Mercedes Rubino, Indigenous communities and religious communities. Assessment of diversity in jurisprudence in the Argentine Republic (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Argentina)
Moderator: René Cortínez SJ (U. Alberto Hurtado, Chile)
2. From the patronage regime to institutional separation and agreements with religious entities
Gabriel González Merlano, A century of Church-State separation in Uruguay: a century of religious freedom (Instituto Universitario Mons. Mariano Soler del Uruguay)
Javiera Sfeir, The participation of the Chilean Council of State in the provision of ecclesiastical positions (1833–1841) (U. de los Andes, Chile)
Rodolfo Torres, Church-State separation and recognition of religious freedom for non-Catholic denominations (Plataforma Evangélica Nacional, Chile)
Moderator: Andrea Botto (U. Finis Terrae – UC Chile)
Thursday, October 16
09:30 – 11:00 hrs. Parallel Sessions
1. The protection of religious sentiments: tensions between religious freedom and freedom of expression
Anastasia Assimakopulos, Destruction and reconstruction of a national monument of religious significance in Chile: the case of the Church of the Veracruz (U. de los Andes, Chile)
Fabio Carvalho Leite, Freedom of religious expression and its limits (under construction) in Brazil (Pontificia Universidad de Río de Janiero, Brazil)
Caetano Dias – Daniel Rodrigues, Religious freedom and political theology in social networks (U. Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil)
Catalina Pons, The necessary protection of religious sentiments in democratic societies (U. de las Islas Baleares, Spain)
Moderator: Omar Cortés (Oficina Nacional de Asuntos Religiosos, Chile)
2. The contribution of religious denominations to the consolidation of democracy in Spain
José Antonio Calvi (Instituto para la protección y el desarrollo de la libertad religiosa, Perú)
Javier Martínez Torrón (U. Complutense de Madrid, Spain)
Silvia Meseguer (U. Complutense de Madrid, Spain)
Francisca Pérez Madrid (U. de Barcelona, Spain)
Moderator: Jorge del Picó (U. de Talca, Chile)
11:00 – 11:30 hrs. Coffee Break
11:30 – 13:00 hrs. Plenary Session
A look at religious freedom in Latin America in light of its norms and jurisprudence
Carmen Asiaín (U. de Montevideo, Uruguay)
Soledad Bertelsen (The Catholic University of America, United States)
Andrés López (U. de la Sabana, Colombia)
Moderator: Maureen Neckelmann (UC Chile)
Location: Aula Magna Manuel José Irarrázaval, Casa Central, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
13:00 – 13:30 hrs. Closing Ceremony
María Elena Pimstein (UC Chile)
13:45 – 15:00 Lunch (Centro de Extensión UC)
