The National Day to Combat Religious Intolerance is celebrated on January 21 and was established by Law 11.635, of December 27, 2007. The Senate Agency records that the date was chosen in honor of ialorixá Mãe Gilda de Ogum. She died on January 21, 2000.
What is the National Day to Combat Religious Intolerance
It is a date in the Union Civic Calendar, for official celebration, fixed on January 21 by Law 11.635. According to the Senate Agency, the objective is to promote respect, tolerance, and dialogue among the diverse religions. The same article says that the date refers to World Religion Day.
The correct name is that of the law: National Day to Combat Religious Intolerance. In searches, many people write "day of religious intolerance," but the date does not celebrate intolerance. It exists to combat it.
The text about religious racism explains how intolerance links to racism when the target is an Afro-Brazilian religion.
What Law 11.635 says and what it does not do
The law has three articles. This is the first, as it appears in the Planalto:
“Art. 1º The National Day to Combat Religious Intolerance is established to be celebrated annually throughout the national territory on January 21.”
Law 11.635/2007, art. 1º
Art. 2º includes the date in the Union Civic Calendar for official celebration purposes. Art. 3º says that the law enters into force on the date of its publication.
According to the text, the law does not do three things:
- Does not mention Mãe Gilda. The tribute comes from the history of the date, told by the Senate Agency and the Federal Justice.
- Does not create a holiday. None of the three articles mention a holiday.
- Does not define a crime or a penalty. It only institutes the date.
Discrimination or religious prejudice is a crime in art. 20 of Law 7.716/1989. The penalties and other articles are in the text about the law against religious intolerance.
Mãe Gilda de Ogum: the history behind January 21
Gildásia dos Santos e Santos was an ialorixá and social activist of Candomblé, according to PET História da USP. The group records that she was initiated in 1976 and founded Ilê Axé Abassá de Ogum in 1988, in Itapuã, Salvador. She also stood out for her activism in favor of improving living conditions in the neighborhood. To understand the orixá (orisha) that gives its name to the house, see the text about who is Ogum.
In 1999, Folha Universal published a photo of her. According to the STJ note, the photo was used in an offensive context in the newspaper Folha Universal, a media outlet for the Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus. The house's page adds that the image appeared with a black bar over her eyes, in October 1999, in a report that called practitioners charlatans.
Mãe Gilda died of a heart attack on January 21, 2000, one day after signing the power of attorney to open the lawsuit, according to Correio. A Tarde records the same date and the same heart attack. The heirs proceeded with the action.
The 17th Civil Court of Bahia ordered the Igreja Universal to pay R$ 1.4 million, according to the STJ note. In September 2008, unanimously, the Fourth Chamber of the STJ maintained the obligation to indemnify the children and the husband. The rapporteur reduced the total to R$ 145,250.00, or R$ 20,750 for each heir (REsp 913131).
The newspaper Correio recorded that, according to the STJ, the decision was unprecedented in the country. At the time, an appeal was still possible.
The order of the dates matters. Law 11.635 is from December 2007, and the STJ decision is from September 2008. The day came before the STJ decision.
In November 2014, the bust of Mãe Gilda was inaugurated in the Parque Metropolitano do Abaeté, in Itapuã, according to CESE. The article says this came after long social, religious, and political mobilization. It links the day and the bust to the recognition of her trajectory.
01/21, 03/21, 11/15 and the September Walk
Four similar dates appear in the search. Three come from federal law, and the fourth is a public act.
| Date | Name | Base | What is it |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 21 | National Day to Combat Religious Intolerance | Law 11.635/2007 | Combat against religious intolerance, with Mãe Gilda as the honoree |
| March 21 | National Day of the Traditions of African Roots and Nations of Candomblé | Law 14.519/2023 | Traditions of African roots and the nations of Candomblé |
| November 15 | National Day of Umbanda | Law 12.644/2012 | The date of Umbanda, another religion and another law |
| Third Sunday of September | March for Religious Freedom in Rio | It is not a law: it is an act of the CCIR and the CEAP | March in Copacabana |
The difference between the first two is in the text of each law. The one from January 21 speaks of the fight against intolerance. The one from March 21 speaks of traditions and nations of Candomblé, and does not use the word intolerance.
The Chamber Agency reports that the March 21 project planned for September 30. The Senate proposed March 21, which coincides with the UN International Day to Combat Racial Discrimination.
November 15 is another religion and another law. The text about the Day of Umbanda tells the history of this date.
The Rio Walk is not in January. It takes place on the third Sunday of September.
How the day is remembered today
Numbers. The TRF6 informs that, in 2024, the National Ombudsman of the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship received 2,472 reports and confirmed 3,853 violations of religious freedom. Reports and violations are different counts. The TRF6 text, from January 21, 2025, says that the ministry reinforces Disque 100 as a reporting channel.
Rio de Janeiro. The Walk in Defense of Religious Freedom held its 19th edition on Sunday, September 20, 2026, in Copacabana. It is organized by the Commission to Combat Religious Intolerance (CCIR) and by the Center for Articulation of Marginalized Populations (CEAP). It was born in 2008, from the mobilization caused by episodes of persecution and violence against practitioners of Afro-Brazilian religions. On January 21, 2026, the Rio Federal Justice Cultural Center scheduled the VIII Religious Freedom, Democracy and Human Rights Seminar. The scheduled time was from 2:00 PM to 7:00 PM, within the National Week to Combat Religious Intolerance.
Salvador. Brasil de Fato released the schedule for January 21, 2023. A tribute was scheduled for 8:00 AM in front of the bust of Mãe Gilda, in Itapuã, promoted by Terreiro Axé Abassá de Ogum. For 3:00 PM, a public act from the Igreja do Rosário dos Pretos to the Monumento da Cruz Caída was planned. The executive director of Koinonia was quoted in the report: "The day is one of mourning and also of victory for the family." The 2026 Salvador schedule was not verified.
What to do on January 21
Check the schedule for your city and the houses of the orixás in the region. In 2023, Salvador had an event scheduled for the day itself, and Rio hosts the Caminhada in September. For those who suffered or witnessed an attack, the channel cited by the ministry is Disque 100. The step by step is in the text about how to report religious intolerance.
The blog also gathers the dates of the orixás in the calendar of the orixás and on the calendar page. The house of the orixás as heritage has its own text about the terreiros listed by Iphan.
Frequently asked questions
Is January 21 a holiday?
No. Law 11.635 establishes the National Day to Combat Religious Intolerance and includes the date in the Union Civic Calendar for official celebration purposes. None of the three articles mention a holiday. The day is remembered with acts, debates, and tributes, not with a day off provided by law.
Why is the day January 21?
It is the date when the ialorixá Mãe Gilda de Ogum died in 2000. The Senate Agency says the day was chosen in her honor and in reference to World Religion Day. Law 11.635 does not mention her name, and the connection comes from the history of the date.
What is the difference between January 21 and March 21?
January 21 is the National Day to Combat Religious Intolerance, from Law 11.635/2007. March 21 is the National Day of the Traditions of the Roots of African Matrices and Nations of Candomblé, from Law 14.519/2023. One combats intolerance, and the other deals with traditions and nations.
Who was Mãe Gilda de Ogum?
Gildásia dos Santos e Santos, ialorixá and social activist of Candomblé. According to PET História da USP, she began in 1976 and founded Ilê Axé Abassá de Ogum in 1988, in Itapuã, Salvador. She died on January 21, 2000, and the heirs took the action to the STJ.
Does the Rio Caminhada happen on January 21?
No. The March in Defense of Religious Freedom takes place on the third Sunday of September, in Copacabana, and the 19th edition was on September 20, 2026. It is organized by CCIR and CEAP. In 2023, Salvador had acts scheduled for the day of January 21 itself.
References
- Presidency of the Republic: Law 11.635/2007, National Day to Combat Religious Intolerance
- Presidency of the Republic: Law 14.519/2023, National Day of the Traditions of African Roots and Nations of Candomblé
- Presidency of the Republic: Law 12.644/2012, National Day of Umbanda
- Presidência da República: Law 7.716/1989, art. 20
- STJ (note from 2008, republished on Jusbrasil): STJ confirms conviction of Universal Church to compensate heirs of mãe-de-santo
- Correio, 09/20/2008: Universal Church of the Kingdom of God is convicted for religious intolerance
- A Tarde, 09/19/2008: Iurd receives unprecedented conviction for religious intolerance
- Senate Agency, 01/21/2022: Senators recall National Day to Combat Religious Intolerance
- Federal Justice, TRF6: National Day to Combat Religious Intolerance
- PET História USP, 07/26/2024: Discover Mãe Gilda de Ogun
- Ilê Axé Abassá de Ogum: Mãe Gilda
- Chamber Agency, January 2023: Law creating the National Day of African Roots Traditions is sanctioned
- CESE, January 21, 2025: Celebration of the 10th anniversary of the bust of Mãe Gilda de Ogum
- Brasil de Fato, 01/20/2023: Events mark the day of Combat against Religious Intolerance in Salvador
- Centro Cultural Justiça Federal: National Week to Combat Religious Intolerance 2026
- Jornal Agito, 09/19/2026: Thousands of people are expected in Copacabana for the 19th March in Defense of Religious Freedom
- Portal C3, September 2026: March in Defense of Religious Freedom brings together different beliefs in Copacabana
