Download Religion - Brazil Matters

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BRAZIL MATTERS !
Religion
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Brazil has the largest Catholic population in the world.
African slaves, and later immigrants, brought their traditions and beliefs.
Evangelical religions have grown in importance since the early C20th.
Brazil is mainly a Christian country where
most people (about 65%) are Catholic.
There is no official or national religion; religion plays no part in political life. There is
freedom to worship any religion. There is
no religious persecution. Many Brazilians,
up to 20%, have changed to Evangelical
religions and these have grown rapidly in
recent years. Candomblé is an AfroBrazilian religion based on Spiritualism; it is
practiced particularly in Bahia.
Catholicism was introduced by the Portuguese
colonisers in the C16th; they set about converting
the native indigenous tribes to Christianity led by
the Jesuits priests. The Jesuits were a zealous
religious order; they believed strongly in converting everyone to the Catholic religion. The Amerindians were forbidden from worshipping their own
gods. In the C17th, the priests began to settle the
natives in missions across Brazil and in the
neighbouring Spanish colonies. The Jesuits protected the them, especially from the bandeirantes,
who captured them to sell as slaves. The missions
promoted the ideal of equality and became centres of study, intellect and the arts. Later, they
were destroyed on the orders of the Spanish and
the Portuguese crowns. This was because they
feared the spread of democratic ideas from the
missions.
The first mass in Brazil. Painting by the Brazilian
artist Victor Meirelles (1860).
The NE of Brazil is the region with the highest number of Catholics. Piauí state has one of the
largest concentration of Catholics in Brazil (85% of the population). On the other hand, Rio de Janeiro has the lowest concentration (45%). In the SE, the Catholic Church has lost many followers
to the Evangelical Churches, especially in the biggest cities. Everyday images and symbols of the
Catholic religion include: magnificent baroque churches and cathedrals; small shrines marking the
places where people have died in accidents; shrines to keep people safe in dangerous places
such as at cross roads or on paths; cemeteries with tombs and statues; the names of saints that
occur in the names of districts, towns and cities, such as São Paulo.
Most Brazilians, of all ages, identify Catholicism as their religion. However, not all of them practice
it. In the rural areas, more people worship and go to church regularly than in the towns and cities.
Young people are involved in religion in Brazil more than in the UK and many other European
countries.
The World Class series of resources is produced by:
Education Matters! 29 High Street, Halberton, Tiverton, Devon, EX16 7AF, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1884 820081 Visit our website at www.education-matters-uk.com
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BRAZIL MATTERS !
Religion (continued)
The national shrine is Our Lady of
Aparecida, situated in São Paulo state. This is
a huge basilica, which dates from 1955 when
the former church was rebuilt. It attracts millions of pilgrims annually. The origin of the site
stems from a vision of three fishermen in
1717, who hauled a statue of the Virgin Mary
out of the water with their nets. The shrine has
been visited by the last four popes in 1980,
2007, 2013 and 2015.
Basilica of the national shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida.
TP
Other religions also came to Brazil from abroad when the Portuguese brought slaves from Africa
to work the plantations. The Africans brought their traditions and beliefs - their religions. Immigrants from central Europe increased the number of Protestants in the C19th, especially in the
South of Brazil, where many Germans settled. More recently Evangelical religions have grown
rapidly. Over 15% of the population now follow more than of 20 types of Evangelical religions, including Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodists, Baptists and Congregationalists.
There are many types of Pentecostal Churches, such as the House of God Church. Pentecostalists believe that faith should be experienced spiritually. It is based on the baptism of the 12 disciples after Christ’s death. It originated in the US in the early C20th and has grown rapidly in Brazil
since 1970. It is followed mainly by the poor. Some sects have their own TV channels. Many footballers have been converted. Controversially, church members are expected to donate 10% of
their wealth to the church; credit card machines are sometimes used during collections but the
churches do not have to pay taxes or to declare their incomes.
Some religions have blended elements from the Catholic faith with African traditions; these include Candomblé and Macumba. Candomblé has its roots in Africa; it is practised in Brazil but
also in some other Latin American and European countries. The slaves were brought principally
from different parts of West Africa. Because of this, they worshipped many different orixás
(ancestral deities or gods). The slaves blended elements of Catholicism, such as images and
symbols, with their own religions to disguise their banned religions.
Features of the religion include: having no scriptures; using the houses of priests as temples; making extensive use
of music and dance; group sessions where people are put
into a trance; the wearing of white clothes on Fridays and
special days. An element of Candomblé adopted by the
population is celebrating New Year dressed in white, for
example by millions of people on beaches, such as Copacabana.
Candomblé is practised mainly in Bahia, but also in Rio
de Janeiro, São Paulo, Pernambuco, Alagoas and Maranhão. Umbanda mixes Catholicism, Spiritualism, Indigenous
and African elements. Candomblé and Umbanda are practised by African Brazilians. Some Brazilians view these religions with suspicion, not approving of elements, such as
witchcraft, black magic or animal sacrifice.
On the route of the orixás celebrations, in
Bahia, 2013. Facebook “na rota dos
orixás”.
The World Class series of resources is produced by:
Education Matters! 29 High Street, Halberton, Tiverton, Devon, EX16 7AF, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1884 820081 Visit our website at www.education-matters-uk.com
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BRAZIL MATTERS !
Religion (continued)
In the C20th, a large number of Japanese and other Asian
immigrants such as Koreans and Chinese introduced
Buddhism and Shintoism into the country. Most follower
have converted to Catholicism.
There is a small Muslim community; immigrants came
from the Lebanon and Syria to Brazil in the early C20th.
Bairro da Liberdade, in São Paulo.
Wikipedia
The small Jewish community lives mainly in São Paulo, Brazil’s
most important commercial city, and Rio de Janeiro.
The Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue was built in Recife, in
1636. It was the first Jewish synagogue in the Americas.
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The World Class series of resources is produced by:
Education Matters! 29 High Street, Halberton, Tiverton, Devon, EX16 7AF, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1884 820081 Visit our website at www.education-matters-uk.com
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