Cape Verde

The former Portuguese colony of Cape Verde (or Cabo Verde) comprises nine main islands off the west coast of Africa. Poor in natural resources, the Cape Verde islands have nevertheless won a reputation for achieving political and economic stability.

According to the most recent census data (2010),[ref]https://ine.cv/en/quadros/rgph-2010-cabo-verde-em-numeros/[/ref] the majority of the population over the age of 15 identify as Roman Catholic (77%); the non-religious are the second largest belief group (11%). Christian rationalists, Muslims, Adventists, and followers of the Church of Nazarene account for 2% of the population each.

Constitution and government Education and children’s rights Family, community, society, religious courts and tribunals Freedom of expression advocacy of humanist values
‘Blasphemy’ is outlawed or criticism of religion (including de facto ‘blasphemy’ laws) is restricted and punishable with a prison sentence
Preferential treatment is given to a religion or religion in general
State-funding of religious institutions or salaries, or discriminatory tax exemptions
Discriminatory prominence is given to religious bodies, traditions or leaders
Some concerns about political or media freedoms, not specific to the non-religious
No formal discrimination in education
Constitution and government
Preferential treatment is given to a religion or religion in general
State-funding of religious institutions or salaries, or discriminatory tax exemptions
Education and children’s rights
No formal discrimination in education
Family, community, society, religious courts and tribunals
Discriminatory prominence is given to religious bodies, traditions or leaders
Freedom of expression advocacy of humanist values
‘Blasphemy’ is outlawed or criticism of religion (including de facto ‘blasphemy’ laws) is restricted and punishable with a prison sentence
Some concerns about political or media freedoms, not specific to the non-religious
The state is secular, with separation of religious and political authorities, not discriminating against any religion or belief
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report

Countries: no countries relate to this boundary condition

Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in all or most state-funded schools with no secular or humanist alternative
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report

Countries: Angola, South Sudan, Tuvalu

Religious courts or tribunals rule directly on some family or ‘moral’ matters; it is legally an opt-in system, but the possibility of social coercion is very clear
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report
No fundamental restrictions on freedom of expression or advocacy of humanist values
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report

Countries: no countries relate to this boundary condition

No condition holds in this strand

Countries: Lesotho, Uzbekistan

No condition holds in this strand

Countries: Andorra

No condition holds in this strand
No condition holds in this strand

Countries: no countries relate to this boundary condition

Localised or infrequent but recurring and widespread social marginalisation or prejudice against the non-religious

This condition is unusual in that it is applied in cases where there is some social discrimination, but it is not pervasive or nationwide. This condition is applied when there is sufficient background evidence to warrant the assertion that discrimination is not anomalous but widespread, and this condition may be applied for example even where if there is no legislative discrimination or where the non-religious may have legal recourse against such discrimination. However, societal discrimination (i.e. discrimination by peers, as opposed to state or legal discrimination) is not easily measured, and for this reason the Report does not currently have similar more severe boundary conditions to capture higher levels of social discrimination per se. In principle these may be introduced in future. However, we consider that countries with actual higher levels of social discrimination against the non-religious will generally already meet other higher level (more severe) boundary conditions under this thematic strand.

Countries: Albania, Botswana, Greece, Serbia, United States of America

The dominant influence of religion in public life undermines the right to equality and/or non-discrimination

Applied when the influence of religion on public life undermines others’ rights, such as SRHR, women’s rights, LGBTI+ rights.

May be applied when the influence is overt (i.e. when religious laws are applied to undermine others’ rights) or covert (i.e. where religious pressure groups exert influence to affect policy)

Countries: Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brunei Darussalam, Burundi, Chile, Congo, Democratic Republic of, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Eritrea, Eswatini, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Hungary, Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Liberia, Lithuania, Mali, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Oman, Paraguay, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, Zambia

Use of Conscientious Objection clauses resulting in the denial of lawful services to women and LGBTI+ people
Complete tyranny precludes all freedoms of expression and thought, religion or belief

Applied when overriding acts of oppression by the State are extreme, to the extent that the question of freedom of thought and expression is almost redundant, because all human rights and freedoms are quashed by authorities.

Countries: Afghanistan, North Korea

The non-religious are barred from some government offices (including posts reserved for particular religions or sects)
There is a nominal state church with few privileges or progress is being made toward disestablishment

Countries: Bulgaria, Norway, Peru, Rwanda

Religious or ideological indoctrination is utterly pervasive in schools
Expression of non-religious views is severely persecuted, or is rendered almost impossible by severe social stigma, or is highly likely to be met with hatred or violence
The non-religious are persecuted socially or there are prohibitive social taboos against atheism, humanism or secularism
There is significant social marginalisation of the non-religious or stigma associated with expressing atheism, humanism or secularism
Expression of core Humanist principles on democracy, freedom and human rights is brutally repressed
Religious authorities have supreme authority over the state

Countries: Iran

State legislation is partly derived from religious law or by religious authorities
Preferential treatment is given to a religion or religion in general

This condition is applied where there are miscellaneous indicators that organs of the state offer various forms of support for a religion, or to religion in general over non-religious worldviews, suggesting a preference for those beliefs, or that the organs of that religion are privileged.

Countries: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belize, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burundi, Canada, Cape Verde, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Tunisia, Turkey, Tuvalu, United Kingdom, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Zimbabwe

Religious or ideological instruction in a significant number of schools is of a coercive fundamentalist or extremist variety

This condition highlights countries where schools subject children to fundamentalist religious instruction with no real opportunity to question fundamentalist tenets, or where lessons routinely encourage hatred (for example religious or ethnic hatred). The wording “significant number of schools” is not given a rigid quantification (sometimes the worst-offending schools are unregistered, illegal, or otherwise uncounted); however the condition is not applied in cases where only a small number of schools meet the description and may be anomalous, as opposed to being indicative of a widespread problem.

Countries: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia

State-funded schools provide religious education which may be nominally comprehensive but is substantively biased or borderline confessional
There is a pattern of impunity or collusion in violence by non-state actors against the non-religious
Some religious courts rule in civil or family matters on a coercive or discriminatory basis
‘Apostasy’ or conversion from a specific religion is outlawed and punishable by death
‘Apostasy’ is outlawed and punishable with a prison sentence

Countries: Bahrain, Comoros, Jordan, Kuwait

State legislation is largely or entirely derived from religious law or by religious authorities
Anomalous discrimination by local or provincial authorities, or overseas territories
Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in at least some public schools (without secular or humanist alternatives)
Government figures or state agencies openly marginalize, harass, or incite hatred or violence against the non-religious
Government authorities push a socially conservative, religiously or ideologically inspired agenda, without regard to the rights of those with progressive views
‘Blasphemy’ or criticism of religion is outlawed and punishable by death
Quasi-divine veneration of a ruling elite is enforced, or a single-party regime holds uncontested power, subject to severe punishment
Legal or constitutional provisions exclude non-religious views from freedom of religion or belief
It is illegal to register an explicitly Humanist, atheist, secularist or other non-religious NGO or other human rights organization, or such groups are persecuted by authorities
Prohibitive interreligious social control (including interreligious marriage bans)
It is illegal to advocate secularism or church-state separation, or such advocacy is suppressed
The non-religious are barred from holding government office
There is a religious tax or tithing which is compulsory, or which is state-administered and discriminates by precluding non-religious groups
It is illegal or unrecognised to identify as an atheist or as non-religious
Some concerns about children's right to specifically freedom of religion or belief

This condition may apply if specifically religious education, religious materials, or specific religious denominations are so tightly controlled that children are in fact over-protected from exposure to religion and are likely unable to explore or construct their own worldview in accordance with their evolving capacities. This condition helps us to classify states (perhaps with secular constitutions) which have criminalized specifically religious beliefs or practices. This condition is not applied if the restricted beliefs or practices are found to be outlawed due to their being of an extremist variety. While this condition does not directly reflect discrimination against non-religious persons or non-religious ideas, it does represent an overall threat to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief; such restrictions could spill over to affect non-religious beliefs later; and they pose a risk of backlash against over-zealous secular authorities or even against non-religious individuals by association.

Countries: China, Congo, Democratic Republic of, Cuba, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guyana, Italy, Kazakhstan, Laos, Madagascar, Mali, Mexico, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Tajikistan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam, Zimbabwe

It is made difficult to register or operate an explicitly Humanist, atheist, secularist or other non-religious NGO or other human rights organization
Legend
 
Severe Discrimination
Systemic Discrimination
Mostly Satisfactory
Free and Equal
More information about rating table

Constitution and government

The Constitution[ref]https://www.governo.cv/documentos/constituicao-da-republica (in Portuguese, automatic download); https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/cvi117271E.pdf (in English)[/ref] provides for separation of church and state and prohibits the state from imposing religious beliefs and practices. The laws and policies generally protect freedom of religion or belief, the right of individuals to choose and change their religion and to interpret their religious beliefs for themselves.

Under Article 28(2) of the Constitution,

“Personal freedoms, of thought, of expression, and of information, of association, of religion, of worship, of intellectual, artistic and cultural creation, of demonstration and the remaining freedoms enshrined in the Constitution, in general or conventional international law, received in the domestic legal order, and in the laws, shall be guaranteed.”

Subparagraph 3 of the same article guarantees that, “No one may be forced to declare his or her ideology, religion or cult, political or trade union affiliation.”

The law establishes an independent Religious Freedom Commission answerable to the Ministry of Justice.[ref]https://www.arc.cv/arc/upload/legislacao/lesgi_6320869715ed65.46110845151.pdf[/ref]

Catholic privilege

Despite the pledges made in the Constitution, a Concordat with the Vatican, signed in 2013,[ref]https://www.iuscangreg.it/conc/capo-verde-2013.pdf; https://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=18133; https://www.arc.cv/arc/upload/legislacao/lesgi_6320869715ed65.46110845151.pdf[/ref] grants privileges to the Catholic Church, including recognition of the legal status of the Catholic Church and Catholic marriages under civil law, which are not received by any other groups. The concordat specifies a number of Catholic holidays as public holidays, protects places of worship and other Catholic properties, and provides for religious educational institutions, charitable activities, and pastoral work in the military, hospitals, and penal institutions.[ref]https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/cabo-verde/[/ref]

The concordat further exempts Church revenues and properties used in religious and nonprofit activities from taxes and makes contributions to the Church tax deductible.

All religious associations are required to register with the Ministry of Justice. By doing so, they receive exemption from taxes and fees in connection with places of worship or other buildings intended for religious purposes, as well as activities with exclusively religious purposes.[ref]https://www.arc.cv/arc/upload/legislacao/lesgi_6320869715ed65.46110845151.pdf; https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/cabo-verde/[/ref] In order to register, religious groups must present the notarized signatures of 500 members, together with the organizational charter and statutes.[ref]https://www.arc.cv/arc/upload/legislacao/lesgi_6320869715ed65.46110845151.pdf, Article 26.4[/ref]

Education and children’s rights

Education in Cabo Verde is compulsory between the ages of six and 13. The majority of educational establishments are reported to be public schools. The law allows the state to provide financial, teaching and technical support to private schools, and that may include religious organizations that run religious schools.[ref]https://education-profiles.org/sub-saharan-africa/cabo-verde/~non-state-actors-in-education[/ref]

According to law, religious organizations and collectives may request permission to teach moral and religious education in their schools. Such programs must respect the religious pluralism of the country, and may not proselytize.[ref]https://www.arc.cv/arc/upload/legislacao/lesgi_6320869715ed65.46110845151.pdf[/ref]

In 2019, the government introduced the optional subject of “Catholic religious and moral education,” trialing it in 13 schools in the country.[ref]www.scribd.com/document/467390012/Programa-EMRC-Cabo-Verde#; https://www.voaportugues.com/a/disciplina-de-religi%C3%A3o-e-moral-regressa-ao-ensino-em-cabo-verde/5123074.html; https://www.vaticannews.va/pt/africa/news/2022-02/em-cabo-verde-governo-introduz-a-educacao-moral-religiosa-catoli.html; https://inforpress.cv/ensino-da-educacao-moral-e-religiosa-catolica-visa-iluminar-a-vida-da-pessoa-com-valores-vigario-geral/[/ref] The introduction of the subject drew criticism from some sectors of society given the secular nature of the State.[ref]https://www.anacao.cv/noticia/2019/10/01/moral-e-religiao-nas-escolas-publicas-gera-controversia/[/ref] The pilot is due to come to a close at the end of the 2022/2023 academic year after which the Ministry of Education will evaluate whether the subject should be offered at schools across the country on an optional basis.[ref]https://minedu.gov.cv/media/orientacao/2023/04/10/caderno_orienta%C3%A7%C3%B5es_final_ADoPOTF.pdf[/ref]

In 2022, the government promised to publish a report on the implementation of the subject, which appears to be yet to be published at the time of reporting.[ref]https://inforpress.cv/governo-vai-produzir-relatorio-sobre-implementacao-da-educacao-moral-religiosa-catolica-nas-escolas/[/ref] Speaking during a panel discussion, the Minister for Education reportedly stated that it is the hope to produce a subject that is welcoming of Christians and non-Christians, that provides civic training and engages young people in the core values of Cape Verde. Noting the significant role that the Catholic Church has played in building Cape Verdean society, the minister reportedly stated that, it is “at the origin of what we can call Cape Verdeanity and education is one of the pillars of the Catholic church’s action throughout the history of Cape Verde.”

Family, community and society

There are several religious groups in Cape Verde, that include small Muslim and Bahá’i communities. There are no known atheist or humanist groups. Some commentators emphasize the dominance of the Roman Catholic Church, with around 80% of the population being said to be adherents. The Catholic church in Cape Verde is significantly influenced by the African and Brazilian traditions of Cape Verde residents.

“… the Catholic faith still plays a dominating role on the islands. The colonial power of Portugal was primarily influenced by Catholicism and the situation was anything but laicistic in the years of its rule on Cape Verde…”[ref]https://www.capeverde.com/about/religion/[/ref]

The government relies on religious institutions to support the State in implementing public services. The government reportedly allocates $500,000 to three religious organizations for the implementation of activities that are complementary to government programs to mitigate drought.[ref]https://www.redalyc.org/journal/5759/575965958009/html/[/ref]

According to the US State Department’s 2022 report on international religious freedom,[ref]https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/cabo-verde/[/ref] “in June, Minister of Family, Inclusion and Social Development Fernando Elisio Freire met with leaders of multiple Christian denominations on the island of Sao Vicente to involve religious institutions more deeply as partners in the implementation of social programs that fight poverty, support families and reduce crime.”

Freedom of expression, advocacy of humanist values

According to Reporters Without Borders,[ref]https://rsf.org/en/country/cabo-verde[/ref]

“Cape Verde stands out in the region for a favourable working environment for journalists. Press freedom is guaranteed by the constitution. Nonetheless, the heads of state-owned media, who dominate the media landscape, are appointed directly by the government. […] Under state pressure, self-censorship is widespread. Cape Verde maintains a culture of secrecy, with the government not hesitating to restrict access to information of public interest.”

Indeed, in 2022, three journalists were placed under investigation for their reporting into a seven-year-long ongoing investigation into an alleged police shooting of a suspect that had yet to yield any results.[ref]https://ifex.org/cape-verde-journalists-face-jail-time-for-report-on-classified-investigation/; https://www.mfwa.org/issues-in-focus/cape-verde-three-journalists-under-investigation-after-reporting-on-police-killing/[/ref]

According to the Constitution, all registered religious groups have the right to broadcasting time for religious services. It is unclear how many groups take up this opportunity. It is worth noting that non-religious groups do not fall under the definition of “religion” provided by the law on religious freedom. As such, it is unlikely that they would receive the same privilege.

The country continues to criminalize defamation.[ref]https://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/text/206287#LinkTarget_968[/ref]

Blasphemy

According to Article 48 of the Constitution, “Everyone shall have the freedom to express and to disseminate his or her ideas in word, image or by any other means, and no one may be subjected to interference, on account of his or her political, philosophical, religious or other opinions.”

Further Article 49(7) states: “The protection of places of worship, as well as religious symbols, insignias and rites shall be guaranteed and imitation or ridicule thereof shall be prohibited.”

Article 286 of the Penal Code provides penalties of up to 18 months for “anyone who, in order to disturb public peace, offend or mock a person because of their belief or religious function.”[ref]https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/ELECTRONIC/105340/128800/F2009426981/CABO%20VERDE%202.pdf; https://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/text/206287#LinkTarget_968[/ref]

Freedom of association

According to civil society monitor, CIVICUS, the right to freedom of association is generally respected in practice.[ref]https://monitor.civicus.org/explore/association-cape-verde/[/ref] NGOs are permitted under law to work on a variety of causes, including human rights.[ref]https://dre.tretas.org/dre/96981/lei-66-98-de-14-de-outubro[/ref] An analysis conducted by the European Union suggests that civil society in the country is, however, not consolidated and lacks influence in policy-making.[ref]https://www.eeas.europa.eu/delegations/cabo-verde/mapping-cabo-verdean-civil-society-0_en[/ref]