Freedom of religious expression and homophobic hate speech

• Grant number: 14/21405-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): April 01, 2015
• Effective date (End): December 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Law - Public Law
• Principal Investigator: José Duarte Neto
• Grantee: Jéssica Costa
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais (FCHS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Franca. Franca , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Currently, situations of conflict between fundamental rights have been frequently observed. Typically, these conflicts cannot be solved in the same way as ordinary normative conflicts, since most of the fundamental rights appear to be legal standards with strong principle content, and, therefore, should receive a different treatment. This research intends to analyze the theories that study the possible existence of a conflict between fundamental rights, focusing, specifically, on the freedom of belief and religious expression, as opposed to the human dignity of homosexuals minorities affected by this speech, which may or may not be defined as hate speech. The research also intends to discuss the existing techniques to identify and resolve these potential conflicts and, from this theoretical basis, study the effectiveness with which these techniques and theories have been applied to the Brazilian reality. The Ellwanger case will be analyzed with further attention, due to its relevance, since it was an emblematic case in Brazil that showed how we dealt with the conflict between freedom of expression and human dignity.