My Principles & Political Independence — Gabrielle Martinez, Priestess

My Principles & Political Independence

I believe that spirituality should elevate the human being, not serve as an instrument of political power.

My personal convictions are rooted in conservative principles: individual responsibility, freedom of conscience, respect for family, personal dignity, tradition, faith, and the right of each person to live according to their own convictions without being subjected to political coercion.

I do not hide the fact that I am a woman of the political right. I believe in personal freedom, in the value of tradition, in responsibility rather than dependency, and in the importance of preserving the principles that have given structure and meaning to generations. These convictions are part of who I am, and I do not believe that a spiritual person should be expected to conceal their political worldview simply because they work within a religious or spiritual environment.

At the same time, I draw a very clear line between my political convictions and my spiritual work.

I do not believe that churches, temples, spiritual centres, terreiras, or any other sacred spaces should become platforms for political campaigns. Sacred spaces belong to the people who enter them in search of faith, guidance, prayer, reflection, healing, or a deeper understanding of life. They should not be reduced to extensions of political parties or electoral movements.

I equally reject the idea that religion should be used to manipulate voters, legitimise politicians, or place political loyalty above spiritual conscience. This applies to every religious tradition — Christian, Afro-Brazilian, Spiritist, or otherwise. No faith should be treated as electoral property.

I will not negotiate my values with people who do not honour my spirituality, my Catholic saints or my spiritual guides, and who too often try to diminish those of us who believe.

Dignity is not something we trade for approval. We can listen, we can disagree and we can live alongside those who think differently, but we do not need to bargain away our faith, our saints or our guides in order to be accepted.

For me, spiritual freedom also means intellectual and political freedom.

A person may be deeply religious and politically conservative. Another may be religious and politically progressive. Another may have no political affiliation at all. These differences should not determine the dignity with which we treat one another.

My own position, however, is clear.

I am conservative, I am a spiritualist, and I believe these two dimensions of my life can coexist without one being exploited to promote the other. I do not need to turn my spiritual practice into a political campaign in order to defend what I believe. Nor do I believe that political parties should dictate what a spiritual community must think, support, or vote for.

I believe in conscience before conformity.

I believe that faith should inspire people to think, not instruct them whom to elect.

And I believe that the sacred should remain sacred.

My spiritual work is therefore offered with independence, honesty, and respect for individual conscience. I may have my own political convictions — openly and unapologetically — but I will never use the trust placed in me as a spiritual practitioner to pressure another person into adopting them.

Political opinions belong to the individual.

Spirituality belongs to the conscience.

And the freedom to hold both should never be taken away.