Religion Provisions of the Angola Constitution (2010)

One of my current research projects involves analysis of the religion provisions of various constitutions enacted since the year 2000. From time to time on this blog, I'll post extracts of those provisions arranged according to categories such as "Religious Freedom" (guarantee of individual rights), "Established Religion" (joining religion and government), "Establishment Clause" (separating religion and government), "Ceremonial Deism" (symbolic references to religion that have little or no legal effect), "Equal Protection of Religion" (non-discrimination guarantees), "Preamble", "Religious Education", and "Religious Limitations".


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The Angola Constitution of 2010 which contains guarantees of religious liberty, equal protection of religion, and separation of church and state.  It also contains two relatively rare provisions: one explicitly guaranteeing the right to be a conscientious objector and one stating that individuals cannot be asked about their religious beliefs except for statistical purposes.

Source:  World Constitutions Illustrated (HeinOnline)

Establishment Clause

Article 10

(Secular state)

1. The Republic of Angola shall be a secular state and there shall be separation

between state and church, under the terms of the law.

Religious Freedom

Article 10 (2). The state shall recognise and respect the different religious faiths, which shall

be free to organise and exercise their activities, provided that they abide by

the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Angola.

(3). The state shall protect churches and faiths and their places and objects of

worship, provided that they do not threaten the Constitution and public order

and abide by the Constitution and the law.

Article 41

(Freedom of conscience, religion and worship)

1. Freedom of conscience, religion and worship shall be inviolable.

2. No-one shall be deprived of their rights, persecuted or exempted from

obligations due to their religious beliefs or philosophical or political

convictions.

3. Under the terms of the law, the right to be a conscientious objector shall be

guaranteed.

4. No authority shall question anyone with regard to their convictions or

religious practices, except in order to gather statistical data that cannot be

individually identified.

Equal Protection of Religion

Article 23

(Principle of equality)

1. Everyone shall be equal under the Constitution and by law.

2. No-one may be discriminated against, privileged, deprived of any right or

exempted from any duty on the basis of ancestry, sex, race, ethnicity, colour,

disability, language, place of birth, religion, political, ideological or

philosophical beliefs, level of education or economic, social or professional

status.