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Brazil Religion Roman Catholicism
Roman Catholicism
Brazil's strong Roman Catholic heritage can be traced to the Iberian
missionary zeal, with the fifteenth-century goal of spreading Christianity
to the infidels. In the New World, these included both Amerindians
and African slaves. In addition to conversion, there were also strong
efforts to enforce compliance with Roman Catholicism, including
the Inquisition, which was not established formally in Brazil but
nonetheless functioned widely in the colonies. In the late nineteenth
century, the original Roman Catholic populace of Iberian origin
was reinforced by a large number of Italian Catholics who immigrated
to Brazil, as well as some Polish and German Catholic immigrants.
According to all the constitutions of the republican period, there
is no state or official religion. In practice, however, separation
of church and state is weak. Government officials generally avoid
taking action that may offend the church.
Brazil is said to be the largest Roman Catholic country
in the world. In 1996 about 76 percent of the population,
or about 122 million people, declared Roman Catholicism as their
religion, as compared with 89 percent in 1980. The decline may have
resulted from a combination of a real loss of influence and a tendency
to be more objective in answering census questions about religion.
As in most dominant religions, there is some distance between nominal
and practicing Catholics. Brazilians usually are baptized and married
in the Roman
Catholic Church. However, according to the CNBB (National Conference
of Brazilian Bishops), only 20 percent of nominal Catholics attend
Mass and participate in church activities, but the figure may be
as low as 10 percent. Women attend Mass more often than men, and
the elderly are more active in church than the young. In the 1990s,
charismatic forms of Catholicism used unconventional approaches,
along the line of those used by Pentecostal Protestant groups, to
attempt revitalization and increase active participation.
Popular or traditional forms of Catholicism are widespread in the
interior of the country. Many Brazilians pray to figures such as
Padre Cícero (a revered priest who lived in Ceará
from 1844 to 1934), make pilgrimages to the site of the appearance
of Brazil's patron saint, our Lady of the Appearance (Nossa Senhora
Aparecida), and participate in traditional popular rites and festivities,
such as the Círio in Belém and the Festa do Divino
in central Brazil. Some use expressions of religious origin, such
as asking for a blessing on meeting someone older or responding
"God willing" (Se Deusquiser ) when someone says "See
you tomorrow."
During the 1970s, the progressive wing of the church made an "option
for the poor." They were influenced by the doctrine of liberation
theology (see Glossary), in which Brazilian theologians such as
Leonardo Boff played a leading role, and followed the decision of
the Latin American Bishops' Conference in Medellín, Colombia,
in 1968. The church organized Ecclesiastical Base Communities (Comunidades
Eclesiais de Base--CEBs; see Glossary) throughout the country to
work for social and political causes at the local level. During
the military regime, the progressive clergy managed to make the
church practically the only legitimate focus of resistance and defense
of human rights. In the early 1990s, conservative forces, supported
by Pope John Paul II, gained power in the church.
Other Religions
Syncretism, the combination of different forms of belief or practice,
has been widespread in Brazil, where Roman Catholicism has blended
with numerous Afro-Brazilian cults. Syncretism occurred partly because
of religious persecution and partly because of the compatibility
of the different belief systems. The most well-known and socially
acceptable combinations are called umbanda or candomblé .
At one extreme, umbanda blends in with Kardecian spiritualism (see
Glossary). At the other extreme, there is a kind of black magic
called macumba , which can be used for either good or evil purposes.
Its practitioners leave offerings of chicken, rum (cachaça
), flowers, and candles at crossroads, beaches, and other public
places. Kardecian spiritists, as well as Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses,
Jews, and Buddhists, together account for about 3 to 5 percent of
the population, while those declaring that they have no religion
total 15 percent.
In recent decades, Protestantism has grown rapidly. The proportion
of the population considered evangelical grew from 3.7 percent in
1960 to 6.6 percent in 1980. The 1991 census showed a proportion
of 19.2 percent, or 28.2 million followers. Nearly half of Brazil's
evangelicals, or 13 million, belong to the Assembly of God. This
and other evangelical or Pentecostal varieties of Protestantism--Christian
Congregation, Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, Quadrangular
Evangelicals, Brazil for Christ, and God and Love--emphasize brotherhood
and religious ceremonies that actively engage participants in song
and chants. The groups that have grown the most are fundamentalists
with strict standards of personal behavior regarding dress, drinking,
smoking, and gambling. They have special appeal among recent migrants
to urban areas or to the frontier, who have had to adapt to new
and difficult circumstances. In contrast to the formality and central
control of the Roman Catholic Church, the fundamentalist Protestant
groups grow rapidly and split and multiply frequently.
Data as of April 1997
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