The article examines the legal personality of religious communities in Portugal in the light of constitutional provisions, statutory regulations and judicial practice. The starting point is the principle of religious freedom and equality of churches and religious communities, guaranteed by Articles 13 and 41 of the Portuguese Constitution. On this basis, the legislator adopted the Religious Freedom Act (Lei da Liberdade Religiosa, No. 16/2001), which established clear procedures for the acquisition of legal personality by religious communities through registration in the Register of Collective Religious Persons (Registo das Pessoas Coletivas Religiosas – RPCR), administered by the National Register of Legal Persons (RNPC). Judicial decisions have consistently emphasized that registration authorities cannot assess the truth or social significance of religious doctrines but only verify compliance with formal requirements. In several cases concerning new religious movements, courts held that the administration violated the constitutional principle of neutrality by refusing registration due to the “unclear” or “incoherent” nature of a doctrine. Taxation is another contentious field. Portuguese administrative courts have held that tax exemptions apply only to communities registered as collective religious persons under the RPCR or to entities recognized under the Concordat. The analysis demonstrates that the Portuguese model combines state secularism with institutional cooperation with religions, as enshrined in Article 41(4) of the Constitution. This duality is reflected in the agreements of cooperation (acordos de cooperação) concluded with minority religious groups and the 2004 Concordat with the Holy See.
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