this “thing”, was generated by the intersection between religion and political opportunism. Calling it the Christian Bench borders on mockery of the Brazilian people. Bench of Sin seems to me a more biblically and theologically appropriate designation for the “thing.”
If the institutionalization of such a bench can be seen as another move in the dispute for power, the assessment is very different from the point of view of the Bible. In fact, I suggest Psalm 51, verse 5, as a biblical motto for the panel: “I was born in iniquity, and my mother conceived me in sin.”
It commits a very serious sin against faith and democracy by allowing the creation of a political representation smeared with the oils of religion and evangelicalism.
I am not unaware of the electoral motivations that accompany draft resolution nº 71/2025. Lula’s gain in electoral traction for the 2026 election and his discreet improvement in voting intentions in the segment weigh decisively in the calculation for the formalization of the Christian Caucus at this moment.
The term sin, in the languages of the Old and New Testament, means “to miss the mark.” From the point of view of their electoral and financial interests, only time will tell whether the deputies got it right or wrong with the proposal to create the Christian Bench. However, from a biblical point of view, they sin shamelessly.
First: the project fails to confront what Jesus taught about the separation of Church and State. He was clear when responding about taxes for the Pharisees: “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21).
Second: the project violates the command “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain” (Exodus 20:7). The divine name is disrespected by manipulation with the aim of achieving electoral success. Dionysius the Areopagite, the first bishop of Athens, denounced those who used the sacred in a profane way to achieve anything but holy ends.
Third: the project states that the institution of the Christian Bench meets “the desire of millions of Brazilians”. What is the research that recorded the desire of millions of Brazilians to create such a bench? Has anyone ever seen a demonstration with signs: “We want a Christian Caucus”? Catholics and evangelicals should not belittle what the apostle Paul wrote: “Leaving lies aside, let each one speak the truth to his neighbor” (Ephesians 4:25).
Fourth: the justification for creating the bench states that the initiative “does not have an exclusive character, but an integrative one”. It is discriminatory and, moreover, hypocritical. In the Epistle of James it is written: “If you respect persons, you commit sin” (James 2:9).
Proponents of the “thing” called the Christian Caucus argue that Christians represent 80% of the country’s population and are underrepresented in parliament. The next step will be a confessional democracy in the style of? There, the president must be a Maronite Christian; the prime minister, a Sunni Muslim; and the speaker of parliament, a Shiite Muslim. Here, would the chairs and positions be distributed according to the size of each church in Brazil?
The undeniable objective of creating the Christian Bench is the association of Christianity with the right-wing conservative agenda and, with this, the demonization of political and religious pluralism. Although the justification for creating the bench is the valorization of faith, it is, in fact, a trivialization and instrumentalization of the sacred for electoral purposes. Everything combined and anointed in the name of God.
The score for the urgency vote for the project was 398 in favor and 30 against. Democratic lucidity did not even reach the tithe figure.
