Uruguay

The Oriental Republic of Uruguay is the second smallest nation on the South American continent, bordering Brazil and Argentina. Its mostly urban population centers around the capital, Montevideo.

The precise religious demography of the 3.4 million population is not measured in national censuses.¹ Recent estimates suggest that between 34-42% of the population are Roman Catholic, approximately 15% are thought to be of other Christian denominations, including a growing evangelical protestant population, and up to 10% atheist. Some 47% of individuals responding to a 2023 Latinobarómetro survey answered “none” to the question “what is your religion?”. However, there is some debate as to whether these individuals are non-religious or do not belong to a specific religious group.² Other religious groups include Buddhists, Jews, Hindus and Muslims, who each account for less than 1% of the population.³

Constitution and government

The Constitution⁴ in Uruguay and numerous laws explicitly prohibit discrimination based on religion. There is a strict separation between religion and state (Article 5 of the Constitution). By law, secularism is commemorated on 19 March each year.⁵

Several provisions of the Penal Code⁶ restrict ill-treatment of ethnic, religious, and other minority groups, including hate crimes (Article 149).

Some deviations from Laicidad

Under Article 5 of the Constitution, the State granted the Catholic Church ownership of Church buildings constructed with public funds, except those that have been designated for use as public buildings, including hospitals and prisons.⁷

Anomalous restrictions on religious minorities’ rights

According to the US State Department, several religious minority groups have reported facing discrimination by the State, and some groups felt that the State favored Christian traditions. Members of an Afro-Umbandist group have reported incidents of officials interrupting rites, including rituals with drums. Muslim women working in some state entities have not been permitted to wear hijabs at work, despite the fact that wearing religious attire and symbols is not prohibited by law. While the authorities are reported to rarely make halal meals available for Muslim children in public primary schools.⁸

Education and children’s rights

The General Law on Education⁹ outlines secularism as a core principle of education, adding that:

“The principle of secularism will ensure the comprehensive and critical treatment of all topics in the field of public education, through free access to sources of information and knowledge that enable those being educated to take a conscious position. The plurality of opinions and the rational and democratic examination of knowledge and beliefs will be guaranteed.”

Article 17 of the General Law on Education¹⁰

While the law does not explicitly prohibit it, public schools do not offer religious instruction. Public schools allow students belonging to minority religious groups to take time off school for religious holidays without being penalized.¹¹

Although private schools do not receive funds from the State, under Article 69 of the Constitution, they are exempt from paying national or municipal taxes by way of subsidy for their services.

Comprehensive sexuality education

Civil society groups have reported that the government has not yet made the delivery of Comprehensive Sexuality Education mandatory in either primary or secondary schools.¹²

Further, there are indications that there is a growing backlash against what is being termed the teaching of “gender ideologies” in schools from conservative organizations, religious schools and some legislators.¹³

Family, community and society

Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights

In 2012, Uruguay introduced a law legalizing abortion within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Where the pregnancy results from rape, contingent on certain procedural requirements, abortion is permitted up to 14 weeks.¹⁴

Within that framework, there are a number of factors limiting access to safe abortion.¹⁵ Along with a mandatory waiting period and obligatory counselling prior to accessing an abortion, and a lack of access to health centers in rural areas,¹⁶ there is an expansive conscientious objection clause (Article 11) that allows healthcare providers to refuse abortion-related services on the grounds of religion or belief.

The conscience clause in the law (updated and expanded in 2015) enables doctors – and private institutions – to refuse participation in any of the steps relating to the termination of pregnancy (not only the abortion procedure), hindering access to pre- and post-abortion care.¹⁷ It is reported that this clause is widely used as a means to deny abortions, and has a significantly negative impact on women’s rights to have safe abortions, and prevents patients from receiving accurate, scientific, and unbiased information about their options. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has noted its concern about the widespread use of conscientious objection amongst medical practitioners in Uruguay, “thereby limiting access to safe abortion services, which are guaranteed by law.”¹⁸

Research conducted by MYSU (Women and Health Uruguay) has shown that in some areas of the country up to 100% of medical service providers refuse to terminate pregnancies, making it virtually impossible to obtain timely access to services.¹⁹

Reports also indicate that there is significant social stigma against obtaining an abortion, with religious convictions cited as one of the key sources of social pressure. In some cases, in an attempt to dissuade women from having an abortion, women have reportedly been shown images and sounds during the ultrasounds they must undergo, despite medical protocols clearly indicating that this should not be done.²⁰

LGBTI+ rights

Uruguay has often been at the vanguard of LGBTI+ rights in the region and such rights are generally respected in the country. Same-sex sexual relationships have been legal since 1933, while same-sex marriage was legalized in 2013.

However, the country has yet to ban conversion therapy outright. According to LGBTI+ rights NGO, ILGA World, the 2017 Mental Health law prohibits “health professionals, particularly psychiatrists, from legally engaging in sexual orientation change efforts.”²¹ Humanists International has not found reports of religious groups carrying out conversion practices.

Although the legal framework is broadly favorable to LGBTI+ rights, civil society groups report that LGBTI+ people face discrimination in employment and access to medical care. Public figures, including legislators, have been reported to have been publicly outspoken against homosexuality, using the Bible as justification for their convictions.²² It is unclear how widespread such statements are.

In 2018, the government passed legislation that permits trans individuals to change their gender identity and guarantees them access to healthcare. Attempts by conservative representatives in parliament to roll-back these rights failed in 2019.²³

Freedom of expression, advocacy of humanist values

The constitutional guarantees of free expression (Article 29) are generally respected, and violations of press freedom are relatively uncommon.²⁴ However, recent amendments to the Media Law have sparked concerns for media freedom in the country.

Media freedom

In August 2024, the government passed a new Audiovisual Content Broadcasting Services Law (Media Law)²⁵ that media freedom organizations had criticized for having the potential to increase media concentration, decrease transparency, and have the effect of undermining freedom of expression.²⁶ However, one day later, President Lacalle Pou vetoed article 72 of the law – an article that sought to impose undue obligations on media outlets to provide political information in a “comprehensive, impartial, serious, rigorous, plural and balanced manner among political actors” – thereby addressing some of the concerns raised by civil society actors.²⁷

The passage of the law prompted the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Irene Khan, to send a formal communication to the government, expressing concerns regarding the Media Law’s conformity with international human rights standards in late September 2024.²⁸

‘Blasphemy’

Chapter V of the Penal Code outlines ‘crimes against freedom of worship and religious sentiments’. The provisions are primarily designed to criminalize actions that would prevent an individual from exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief. However, Article 306, criminalizes:

“Anyone who in any way offends any of the religious groups tolerated in the country, publicly insulting its ministers or persons who profess said worship, shall be punished with three to twelve months in prison.”²⁹

Further, Article 305 criminalizes:

“Anyone who, in any way, by words or acts, including damage or destruction, offends any of the religions tolerated in the country, by insulting things that are objects of worship, or that serve for its exercise, in places intended for worship, provided that the offense is carried out publicly or has a public character due to its notoriety, shall be punished with six to twenty-four months in prison.”³⁰

In criminalizing causing offense through insults to religious persons or the damage of objects in such broad terms, the Penal Code places de facto restrictions on ‘blasphemy’. Humanists International could not find specific instances of either of these provisions being applied in practice.

Freedom of Assembly and Association

The right to freedom of assembly and association are guaranteed by law, and the government generally respects this in practice. A broad range of community organizations are active in civic life in the country, including many groups focussed on the rights of women for which campaigning aims to raise particular awareness about issues such violence against women and LGBTI+ rights.³¹

In October 2020, the newly-elected center-right government passed the Law of Urgent Consideration (Ley de Urgente Consideración – LUC), which – among other provisions designed to address public security concerns – grants police greater powers to use force to quell protests, presents greater obstacles to public demonstrations and the work of unions, and criminalizes criticizing the police.³² The law has also been criticized by the former Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Edison Lanza, as creating a vehicle of censorship through the “right to be forgotten.”³³

In 2022, the law was upheld following a tightly contested plebiscite on whether its provisions should be repealed.³⁴

1. “Población preliminar: 3.444.263 habitantes”, Instituto Nacional de Estadística, 27 November 2023, https://www.gub.uy/instituto-nacional-estadistica/comunicacion/noticias/poblacion-preliminar-3444263-habitantes [↩]
2. Miguel Pastorino, “Creyentes ‘sin’ religión y menos católicos”, El Observador, 3 April 2024, https://www.elobservador.com.uy/nota/creyentes-sin-religion-y-menos-catolicos–202443162657; “Uruguay”, CIA World Factbook, Last updated 27 November 2024, https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/uruguay/#people-and-society; “Uruguay 2023”, Latinobarometro, https://www.latinobarometro.org/latOnline.jsp [↩]
3. “Uruguay” chapter in 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom (US Department of State, 2023), https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-report-on-international-religious-freedom/uruguay/ [↩]
4. Constitución de la República (1967) https://parlamento.gub.uy/documentosyleyes/documentos/11/HTML[↩]
5. Declaración del “Día de la Laicidad”. 19 de Marzo de Cada Año, Ley N° 19626, 15 June 2018, https://www.impo.com.uy/bases/leyes/19626-2018 [↩]
6. Código Penal, N° 9155, 4 December 1933, https://www.impo.com.uy/bases/codigo-penal/9155-1933 [↩]
7. Reconoce a la Iglesia Católica el dominio de todos los templos que hayan sido total o parcialmente construidos con fondos del Erario Nacional, exceptuándose sólo las capillas destinadas al servicio de asilos, hospitales, cárceles u otros establecimientos públicos. [↩]
8. Uruguay” chapter in 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom (US Department of State, 2023), https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-report-on-international-religious-freedom/uruguay/ [↩]
9. Asamblea General, Ley General de Educación, Ley Nº 18.437, 12 December 2008, https://parlamento.gub.uy/documentosyleyes/leyes/ley/18437 [↩]
10. Unofficial translation of: “El principio de laicidad asegurará el tratamiento integral y crítico de todos los temas en el ámbito de la educación pública, mediante el libre acceso a las fuentes de información y conocimiento que posibilite una toma de posición consciente de quien se educa. Se garantizará la pluralidad de opiniones y la confrontación racional y democrática de saberes y creencias.”[↩]
11. “Uruguay” chapter in 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom (US Department of State, 2023), https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-report-on-international-religious-freedom/uruguay/ [↩]
12. Cecilia Anandez, Alicia Benitez, Estela De Armas, Ana Lima and Andrea Mazzei (CLADEM); Micaela Britos and Giovanna De León (Colectivamujeres); Lucia Van Velthoven (Iniciativas Sanitaria); Mauricio Coitiño (Instituto Afrodescendiente), “Alternative Report to the Human Rights Council 4th Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review of Uruguay 46th session”, CLADEM, Colectivamujeres, Iniciativas Sanitaria, Instituto Afrodescendiente, https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/upr/uy-stakeholders-info-s46; “Joint Submission 10”, Akahata-Equipo de Trabajo en Sexualidades y Géneros, Buenos Aires (Argentina), Colectivo Ovejas Negras Akahatá A.C.Sexual Rights Initiative Unión Rochense LGBT+ Coordinadora por la Diversidad – Salto Colectivo Binacional LGBTQ+ D.I.V.A.S Chuy – Chuí – S.V.P. Colectivo Diverso Las Piedras
    Colectivo LGBTH+ Gente de Diversidad Bella Unión Colectivo Riversidad – ATRU Rivera Colectivo Selim Tejos – Masculinidades, personas no binaries y más Durazno Diverso Manos Púrpura, Trans Boys Uruguay (TBU), niñez, adolescencia y familia Unión Trans y Disidentes de Maldonado, accessed 12 December 2024, https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/upr/uy-stakeholders-info-s46[↩]
13. “Joint Submission 10”, Akahata-Equipo de Trabajo en Sexualidades y Géneros, Buenos Aires (Argentina), Colectivo Ovejas Negras Akahatá A.C.Sexual Rights Initiative Unión Rochense LGBT+ Coordinadora por la Diversidad – Salto Colectivo Binacional LGBTQ+ D.I.V.A.S Chuy – Chuí – S.V.P. Colectivo Diverso Las Piedras Colectivo LGBTH+ Gente de Diversidad Bella Unión Colectivo Riversidad – ATRU Rivera Colectivo Selim Tejos – Masculinidades, personas no binaries y más Durazno Diverso Manos Púrpura, Trans Boys Uruguay (TBU), niñez, adolescencia y familia Unión Trans y Disidentes de Maldonado, accessed 12 December 2024, https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/upr/uy-stakeholders-info-s46; “Manini Ríos contra la ‘ideología de género’ en escuelas: es ‘sencillamente suicida’”, El Observador, 8 November 2022, https://www.elobservador.com.uy/nota/manini-rios-contra-la-idolologia-de-genero-en-escuelas-es-sencillamente-suicida–2022118124748 [↩]
14. Ley Sobre Interrupción Voluntaria del Embarazo. Ley del Aborto, Ley N° 18987, 22 October 2012, https://www.impo.com.uy/bases/leyes/18987-2012; “Servicios IVE (Interrupción Voluntaria del Embarazo)”, Administracion de los Servicios de Salud del Estado, 26 April 2023, https://www.asse.com.uy/contenido/Servicios-IVE-Interrupcion-Voluntaria-del-Embarazo–14378 [↩]
15. Gabriel Díaz Campanella, “Legal, pero obstaculizada: la despenalización del aborto cumple 10 años en Uruguay”, El País, 6 January 2023, https://elpais.com/planeta-futuro/2023-01-06/legal-pero-obstaculizada-la-despenalizacion-del-aborto-cumple-10-anos-en-uruguay.html [↩]
16. Lucía Barrios, “Desigualdades en el acceso a la salud entre Montevideo y el resto del país”, La Diaria, 2 December 2023, https://ladiaria.com.uy/salud/articulo/2023/12/desigualdades-en-el-acceso-a-la-salud-entre-montevideo-y-el-resto-del-pais/ [↩]
17. Lucía Berro Pizzarossa, “Legal barriers to access abortion services through a human rights lens: the Uruguayan experience.” Reproductive Health Matters, Volume 26, 2018 – Issue 52. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09688080.2017.1422664#; Cecilia Anandez, Alicia Benitez, Estela De Armas, Ana Lima and Andrea Mazzei (CLADEM); Micaela Britos and Giovanna De León (Colectivamujeres); Lucia Van Velthoven (Iniciativas Sanitaria); Mauricio Coitiño (Instituto Afrodescendiente), “Alternative Report to the Human Rights Council 4th Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review of Uruguay 46th session”, CLADEM, Colectivamujeres, Iniciativas Sanitaria, Instituto Afrodescendiente, https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/upr/uy-stakeholders-info-s46;
    Abracinskas, L. and Puyol, S. , Los dilemas de la objeción de conciencia en salud, desde su impacto en los servicios de salud sexual y reproductiva (MYSU, 2022), https://www.mysu.org.uy/investigaciones/los-dilemas-de-la-objecion-de-conciencia-en-salud-desde-su-impacto-en-los-servicios-de-salud-sexual-y-reproductiva/ [↩]
18. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, Concluding Observations on the Combined Eighth and Ninth Periodic Reports of Uruguay, CEDAW/C/URY/CO/8-9 (2016), https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CEDAW/C/URY/CO/8-9&Lang=En [↩]
19. Abracinskas, L. and Puyol, S. , Los dilemas de la objeción de conciencia en salud, desde su impacto en los servicios de salud sexual y reproductiva (MYSU, 2022), https://www.mysu.org.uy/investigaciones/los-dilemas-de-la-objecion-de-conciencia-en-salud-desde-su-impacto-en-los-servicios-de-salud-sexual-y-reproductiva/ [↩]
20. Gabriel Díaz Campanella, “Legal, pero obstaculizada: la despenalización del aborto cumple 10 años en Uruguay”, El País, 6 January 2023, https://elpais.com/planeta-futuro/2023-01-06/legal-pero-obstaculizada-la-despenalizacion-del-aborto-cumple-10-anos-en-uruguay.html [↩]
21. “Uruguay”, ILGA World Database, accessed 12 December 2024, https://database.ilga.org/uruguay-lgbti [↩]
22. “‘No sé si el ano de un hombre está preparado para ser penetrado’, dijo Domenech,” Montevideo, 20 July 20224, https://www.montevideo.com.uy/Noticias/-No-se-si-el-ano-de-un-hombre-esta-preparado-para-ser-penetrado–dijo-Domenech-uc894586; “Tras dichos de Domenech sobre la penetración del ano, Manini Ríos dijo que su partido no está contra los homosexuales”, El Observador, 24 July 2024, https://www.elobservador.com.uy/nacional/tras-dichos-domenech-la-penetracion-del-ano-manini-rios-dijo-que-su-partido-no-esta-contra-los-homosexuales-n5952808 [↩]
23. Oscar Lopez, “Effort to roll back transgender rights fails in Uruguay”, Reuters, 5 August 2019, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uruguay-rights-vote-idUSKCN1UV2EV/ [↩]
24. “Uruguay” in Chapultepec Index on Freedom of Expression and the Press (Inter-American Press Association, 2024), https://www.indicedechapultepec.com/indice/4/dofa_en.pdf [↩]
25. Asamblea General, Ley de Servicios de Difusión de Contenido Audiovisual, No. 20.383, 16 October 2024, https://medios.presidencia.gub.uy/legal/2024/leyes/10/cons_min_967.pdf [↩]
26. “Aprueban nueva Ley de Medios en Uruguay: más concentración, menos transparencia y amordaza expresiones políticas”, Observacom, 15 May 2024, https://www.observacom.org/aprueban-nueva-ley-de-medios-en-uruguay-mas-concentracion-menos-transparencia-y-amordaza-expresiones-politicas/; “Aprueban nueva Ley de Medios en Uruguay: más concentración, menor transparencia y censura de medios y periodistas”, Observacom, 15 August 2024, https://ifex.org/es/aprueban-nueva-ley-de-medios-en-uruguay-mas-concentracion-menor-transparencia-y-censura-de-medios-y-periodistas/ [↩]
27. “New Media Law draws criticism ahead of the country’s general elections”, CIVICUS Monitor, 22 October 2024, https://monitor.civicus.org/explore/new-media-law-draws-criticism-ahead-of-the-countrys-general-elections/ [↩]
28. “New Media Law draws criticism ahead of the country’s general elections”, CIVICUS Monitor, 22 October 2024, https://monitor.civicus.org/explore/new-media-law-draws-criticism-ahead-of-the-countrys-general-elections/ [↩]
29. Unofficial translation of: “(Ofensa al culto por el ultraje público a las personas que lo profesan o a los ministros del culto) El que de cualquier manera ofendiere alguno de los cultos tolerados en el país, ultrajando públicamente a sus ministros o a las personas que profesan dicho culto, será castigado con tres a doce meses de prisión.”[↩]
30. Unofficial translation of: “(Ofensa al culto por el ultraje de los lugares o de los objetos a él
    destinados) El que, de cualquier manera, con palabras o con actos, incluso el deterioro o la destrucción, ofendiere alguna de las religiones toleradas en el país, ultrajando las cosas que son objeto de culto, o que sirven para su ejercicio, en los lugares destinados al culto, siempre que la ofensa se efectuare públicamente o revistiese por su notoriedad, un carácter público, será castigado con seis a veinticuatro meses de prisión.”[↩]
31. “Uruguay”, CIVICUS Monitor, accessed 13 December 2024, https://monitor.civicus.org/country/uruguay/ [↩]
32. Asamblea General, Ley de Urgente Consideración, No. 19.889, https://infolegislativa.parlamento.gub.uy/htmlstat/pl/leyes/LUC.pdf [↩]
33. Juan Manuel Montoro, trans. Emma Dewick, “Uruguay’s new government is prioritising security, but is it at the cost of free speech?”, Global Voices, 21 December 2020, https://globalvoices.org/2020/12/21/uruguays-new-government-is-prioritising-security-but-is-it-at-the-cost-of-free-speech/ [↩]
34. “Qué es la Ley de Urgente Consideración de Lacalle Pou que los uruguayos ratificaron en el referéndum”, Infobae, 28 March 2022, https://www.infobae.com/america/america-latina/2022/03/28/que-es-la-ley-de-urgente-consideracion-de-lacalle-pou-que-los-uruguayos-ratificaron-en-el-referendum/; “Resultados de Escrutinio Departamental, Referéndum Ley N° 19.889”, Corte Electoral, accessed 13 December 2024, https://referendum2022.corteelectoral.gub.uy/ResumenResultados.htm# [↩]