laic State means one country or nation with one neutral position in the religious field. Also known as the secular state, the secular state has as its principle impartiality in religious matters, not supporting or discriminating against any religion.
A secular state defends religious freedom to all its citizens and does not allow the interference of religious currents in sociopolitical and cultural matters.
A secular country is one that follows the path of secularism, a doctrine that defends that religion should not have an influence in the affairs of the State. Secularism was responsible for the separation of Church and State and gained strength with the French Revolution.
Brazil is officially a secular state, as the Brazilian Constitution and other laws provide for freedom of religious belief for citizens, as well as protection and respect for religious manifestations.
In article 5 of the Brazilian Constitution (1988) it is written:
"VI - freedom of conscience and belief is inviolable, the free exercise of religious cults being guaranteed and the protection of places of worship and their liturgies guaranteed, in accordance with the law;"
However, the secular nature of the State presupposes the non-intervention of the Church in the State, and an aspect that contradicts this stance is religious teaching in Brazilian public schools.
In countries that are not secular (theocratic), religion exercises its political control in defining government actions. In theocratic countries, the system of government is subject to an official religion. Some examples of theocratic nations are: Vatican (Catholic Church), Iran (Islamic Republic) and Israel (Jewish State).
There is also the concept of confessional state, in which the State recognizes a certain religion as being the official of the nation. Despite this, do not confuse theocratic state with confessional state, because in the first case it is religion that defines the course of the country, while in the second the religion is not as important as in the first one, but it still has a lot more influence than in a state secular.