Machado de Assis and religious freedom

Abstract

Machado de Assis expressed his thoughts about his time, including political and social issues, through his chronicles. These chronicles also provide an opportunity to understand the historical period through the perceptive lens of the writer. This article aims to investigate how Machado de Assis addressed religious freedom in the Brazilian Constitution of 1824, analyzing the series of chronicles "Ao Acaso," published in the newspaper Diário do Rio de Janeiro between 1864 and 1865. By also reviewing the bibliography related to the study of Machado de Assis' work and the historical period, thus facilitating an interconnected study of Law and Literature, the research intends to demonstrate the hypothesis that Machado de Assis took a critical stance towards Catholic conservatism. The writer advocated for religious freedom in a broad sense, which led him to believe that it was necessary for the Catholic Church to cease being the official religion of the Empire.