RODRIGO VITORINO SOUZA ALVES

Contact

E-mail: rodrigo@direitoereligiao.org

Short Bio (150 words)

Rodrigo Vitorino Souza Alves is Professor of Law at the Federal University of Uberlandia (Brazil). He leads the Brazilian Center of Studies in Law and Religion - CEDIRE, which is a pioneer and unique initiative established in 2012, aiming to study and research into law, state, and religion from national and international perspectives, as well as to promote freedom of religion of belief through capacity-building projects, in collaboration with academic institutions, governmental bodies, and international organizations. Prof. Alves has been a visiting academic at several institutions, including the University of Oxford, Ratio Legis Center at Lisbon, and the International Center for Law and Religious Studies. Rodrigo has researched and published widely on law and religion, and has been invited to lecture and to serve as an expert at various institutions globally, including the UN and OAS. Prof. Alves holds a Ph.D. in Law from the University of Coimbra (Portugal).

Biography

Rodrigo Vitorino Souza Alves is Professor of Law of the Federal University of Uberlandia (Brazil). He received his Ph.D in Law (Approved with Distinction by Unanimity) from the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra (Portugal), and his LL.M and LL.B from the Federal University of Uberlandia (Brazil). Rodrigo is a member of the Sterring Committee of the International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies (ICLARS) and the Latin American Consortium of Religious Freedom (CLLR). Prof. Alves has been appointed as a member of the Working Group on Religious Freedom of the National Council of Justice by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil in 2022. He was an Academic Visitor at the University of Oxford, a Researcher at the Ratio Legis - Center for Legal Research and Development  of the Autonomous University of Lisbon (on the topic religious freedom, social tension and security), a non-resident fellow at the International Center for Law and Religious Studies. His teaching and research interests include Law and Religion, Inter-religious and Intercultural Dialogue, Constitutional Law, Human Rights, Business and Human Rights, and Law and Technology. He leads the Brazilian Center of Studies in Law and Religion, which focuses on religious freedom, protection of religious minorities, anti-discrimination norms and church-state relations. Rodrigo has published academic works and has been invited to speak or presented papers at events in Brazil (including the National Congress of Brazil, the Human Rights Ministry and several Universities) and international events (including in the Universities of Beijing, Oslo, Cardiff, Oxford, Oxford Brookes, Bielefeld, PUC Uruguay e Paraguay, BYU and Virginia, Notre Dame; Fundazione Marcianum in Venice; Senate of Uruguay; United Nations - OHCHR; Organization of American States; European Union - EEAS e DG-INTPA). He also leads the Human Rights Lab, which was awarded the national prize offered by the Association of Judges of the State of Rio de Janeiro, for the best human rights project in 2020 (1º lugar no Prêmio AMAERJ Patrícia Acioli de Direitos Humanos). At the United Nations Office in Geneva (OHCHR), Rodrigo served as discussant of the draft recommendations and guest speaker at the Sixth Session of the Forum on Minority Issues on "Beyond freedom of religion or belief: Guaranteeing the rights of religious minorities", resulting in the "Recommendations of the Forum on Minority Issues at its sixth session: Guaranteeing the rights of religious minorities". At the OAS, he presented before the Committee of Juridical and Political Affairs of the OAS Permanent Council in Washington DC, on the Omnibus resolution chapter about the establishment of an interamerican dialogue on freedom of religion or belief (Feb. 2020). Rodrigo sits at the International Academic Advisory Board of the Advanced Program on Religion and the Rule of Law at Oxford, he is a member of the Editorial Board of the Series "Law and Religion in a Global Context" published by Springer and the editor of the book "Latin American Perspectives on Law and Religion", and also the Brazilian National Reporter for the Constitute Project (Comparative Constitutions Project). He is one of the original signatories of the Declaration on Human Dignity for Everyone Everywhere (December 2018). He was a member of the Expert Advisory Group for the International Development of Law Organization (IDLO) study on freedom of religion or belief. He is licensed to practice law in Brazil.

Recent publications on Law and Religion

• Book Chapter: ALVES, Rodrigo Vitorino Souza. The International Protection of Freedom of Religion or Belief in the Context of Counter-Terrorism. In: PAGOTTO, Tania; ROOSE, Joshua M.; MARCAR, G. P (ed.). Security, Religion, and the Rule of Law: International Perspectives. London and New York: Routledge, 2024, p. 69-92.

• Book Chapter: ALVES, Rodrigo Vitorino Souza. State, Law, and Religion in Brazil: The Supreme Federal Court Case-Law. In: HOLZER, Shannon (ed.). The Palgrave Handbook of Religion and State. Vol. II. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2023, p. 715-739.

• Book: ALVES, Rodrigo Vitorino Souza (ed.). Latin American Perspectives on Law and Religion. 1. ed. Heidelberg & Londres: Springer, 2020.

• Book Chapter: ALVES, Rodrigo Vitorino Souza; GUIMARÃES, Andrea Letícia Carvalho; RESENDE, José Renato Venâncio Prata; CARMO, Gabriellen da Silva Xavier. La libertad de religión o de creencias y la pandemia del COVID-19. Análisis de las medidas restrictivas adoptadas en Brasil. In: MARTINEZ-TORRÓN, Javier; LARA, Belén Rodrigo (ed.). Covid 19 y libertad religiosa. Madri: REDESOC & IUSTEL, 2021, p. 353-376.

• Book Chapter: ALVES, Rodrigo Vitorino Souza. Law and religion in the encounter of cultures: The normative conflicts between freedom of religion or belief and the rights of indigenous peoples. In: Rodrigo Vitorino Souza Alves. (ed.). Latin American Perspectives on Law and Religion. 1ed.Heidelberg & Londres: Springer, 2020, v. 1, p. 10-33.

• Book Chapter: ALVES, Rodrigo Vitorino Souza. The Protection of the Existence and Identity of Religious Minorities Under the United Nations Legal Framework: Between the Group-Centered and Person-Centered Approaches. In: EHLERS, Dirk; GLASER, Henning (ed.). Political and Religious Communities – Partners, Competitors, or Aliens?. Baden-Baden: Nomos, 2020, p. 563-591.

• Article: ALVES, Rodrigo Vitorino Souza; ALVES PINTO, T. F. Investigations on the Use of Limitations to Freedom of Religion or Belief in Brazil. Religion and Human Rights, v. 15, p. 77-95, 2020.

• Article: ALVES, Rodrigo Vitorino Souza; GUIMARAES, Andréa Letícia Carvalho; RESENDE, José Renato Faria Venâncio Prata; CARMO, Gabriellen da Silva Xavier do. Freedom of religion or belief and the Covid-19 pandemic: an analysis of the adoption of restrictive measures in Brazil. Revista general de derecho canónico y derecho eclesiástico del estado, v. 54, p. 1-24, 2020.

• Article: RESENDE, José Renato Venâncio; ALVES, Rodrigo Vitorino Souza. A legitimidade da recusa da transfusão de sangue por motivos religiosos à luz do direito à saúde nos 30 anos da Constituição. Revista Direitos Humanos e Democracia, v. 8, p. 78-95, 2020.

Recent research and capactiy-building projects on Law and Religion

• "Promoting religious freedom and combating hate speech" (Financial aid from the Brazilian Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship, 2023-2025).

• "Freedom of Religion or Belief on the Internet: The Protection of Human Rights in the Information Society" (In collaboration with Fundação de Apoio Universitário - FAU and Finantial support from Facebook Serviços Online do Brasil Ltda.- Meta, 2022-2024)

• "Education and Training on Freedom of Religion or Belief in Brazil 2022-2023" (Finantial aid from the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway, in collaboration with the Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion or Belief, 2022-2023)

• "G20 Interfaith Forum 2024" (collaboration with the IF20).

• "Brazilian Symposium on Religious Freedom" (collaboration with the International Center for Law and Religion Studies - ICLRS/BYU).

• "Freedom of Religion or Belief: Collective Exercise and Organizational Autonomy" (Financial aid from the National Secretariat for Global Protection, 2021-2022)

• "Human Rights: Knowing, Respecting and Promoting" (Financial aid from the National Secretariat for Global Protection, 2021-2022)

• "Religion and Sustainable Development - Latin American Perspectives" (Global Challenges Reseach Fund - GCRF/UK Research and Innovation; G20 Interfaith Forum - IF20; Religion, Law and International Relations Programme - Oxford; Oxford Journal of Law and Religion, OUP; Brunel University London, 2020-2021)

• "Education and Training on Freedom of Religion or Belief in Brazil" (In collaboration with the Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion or Belief, 2020-2022)

• "Promotion of freedom of religion or belief" (Financial aid from the National Secretariat for Global Protection, 2019-2022)

• "Respect for freedom of religion and belief" (Financial aid from the Labour Justice, 2020-2022)

• "Human Rights Promotion and Education Program" (Financial aid from the Labour Justice, 2019-2022)

• "Freedom, equality and non-discrimination: from human rights theory to practice" (Financial aid from the Labour Public Attorney's Office, 2018-2019)

• “Religion and Human Rights: Promoting the Respect for Religious Diversity” (Financial aid from the Ministry of Education of Brazil, 2015-2016).