Religion in Brazil

Religion in Brazil (2010)[1]

  Other Pentecostal (5.64%)
  Other Christian[lower-alpha 5] (6.82%)
  Spiritism (2.02%)
  Other religions[lower-alpha 6] (1.04%)
  No religion[lower-alpha 7] (8.04%)
  Unknown (0.12%)
People during the Diversidade Religiosa no Brasil (Religion Diversity in Brazil) reunion.
The Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida is the second largest in the world, after only of the Basilica of Saint Peter in Vatican City.[2]

Religion in Brazil has a higher adherence level compared to other Latin American countries, and is more diverse. The dominant religion of Brazil historically was and still is Christianity. Brazil possesses a richly spiritual society formed from the meeting of the Roman Catholic Church with the religious traditions of African slaves and indigenous people. This confluence of faiths during the Portuguese colonization of Brazil led to the development of a diverse array of syncretistic practices within the overarching umbrella of Brazilian Roman Catholicism, characterized by traditional Portuguese festivities.[3] Until recently Catholicism was overwhelmingly dominant. Rapid change in the 21st century has led to a growth in secularism (no religious affiliation), and Evangelical Protestantism to over 22% of the population. The 2010 census indicates that under 65% of Brazilians consider themselves Catholic, down from 90% in 1970, leading Cardinal Cláudio Hummes to comment, "We wonder with anxiety: how long will Brazil remain a Catholic country?"[4][5]

In 1891, when the first Brazilian Republican Constitution was set forth, Brazil ceased to have an official religion and has remained secular ever since, though the Catholic Church remained politically influential into the 1970s. The Constitution of Brazil guarantees freedom of religion and strongly prohibits the establishment of any religion by banning government support or hindrance of religion at all levels.[3] In the 2010 census[1] 64.6% of the population declared themselves as Roman Catholic, 22.2% as Protestant, 8% as non religious, and 5.2% as followers of other religions (mostly Spiritists or Kardecists who follow the doctrines of Allan Kardec, Umbandists, Candomblers, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, and minorities of Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, and other groups).

Brazilian religions are very diversified and inclined to syncretism. In recent decades, there has been a great increase of Neo-Pentecostal churches and a thriving of Afro-Brazilian religions,[6] which have decreased the number of members of the Roman Catholic Church.[7] The number of Umbandists and Candomblers could be significantly higher than the official census figure, since many of them continue to this day to disguise their religion under "Roman Catholic" syncretism.[8] About ninety percent of Brazilians declared some sort of religious affiliation in the most recent census.[9]

Demographics

2010 Census:[1]

Christianity

Pope Benedict XVI and Popemobile during the official visit in São Paulo.

Roman Catholicism

Catholic Church in Rio Grande do Sul.

Brazil has the largest number of Catholics in the world.[10] Roman Catholicism has been Brazil's main religion since the beginning of the 16th century. It was introduced among the Native Brazilians by Jesuits missionaries and also observed by all the Portuguese first settlers.

During colonial times, there was no freedom of religion. All Portuguese settlers and Brazilians were compulsorily bound to the Roman Catholic faith and forced to pay taxes to the church. After the Brazilian independence, the first constitution introduced freedom of religion in 1824, but Roman Catholicism was kept as the official religion. The Imperial Government paid a salary to Catholic priests and influenced the appointment of bishops. The political-administrative division of the municipalities accompanied the hierarchical division of the bishoprics in "freguesias" (parishes). There was also some hindrances to the construction of temples and cemeteries that belonged to the Catholic Church. The first Republican Constitution in 1891 separated religion from state and made all religions equal in the Codes of Law, but the Catholic Church remained very influential until the 1970s. For example, due to the strong opposition of the Catholic Church, divorce was not allowed in Brazil until 1977 even if a separated couple observed a different religion.

The Catholicism practiced in Brazil is full of popular festivities rooted in centuries-old Portuguese traditions, but also heavily influenced by African and Native Brazilian usage. Popular traditions include pilgrimages to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida (Nossa Senhora Aparecida), the patron saint of Brazil, and religious festivals like the "Círio de Nazaré" in Belém and the "Festa do Divino" in many cities of Central Brazil. Areas that received many European immigrants in the last century, specially Italian and German, have Catholic traditions closer to that practiced in Europe.

The largest proportion of Catholics is concentrated in the Northeast (79.9%) and South (77.4%) regions. The smallest proportion of Catholics is found in the Center-West region (69.1%). The State of Piauí has the largest proportion of Catholics (87,93%) and the State of Rio de Janeiro has the smallest one (45.19%). Among the state capitals, Teresina has the largest proportion of Catholics in the country (86.010%), followed by Aracaju, Fortaleza, Florianópolis and João Pessoa.[11][12]

Protestantism

Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in São Paulo.

Protestantism in Brazil largely originated with American missionaries in the second half of the 19th century, following up on efforts that began in the 1830s. Evangelical Protestantism and Pentecostalism has grown very rapidly in Brazil since the late 20th century.[13] The 2010 Census reported that 22.2% of the Brazilian population is Protestant, about 44 million people. Brazil has many versions of Protestantism. These include neo-Pentecostals, old Pentecostals and Traditional Protestants (most of them Baptists, Presbyterians and Methodists) predominantly from Minas Gerais to the South. In the same region, mainly Minas Gerais and São Paulo, large sections of the middle class, about 1-2% of the total population, is Kardecist, sometimes pure, sometimes in syncretism with Roman Catholicism. The Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil, part of the Anglican Communion, has some 120,000 members. Centers of neo-Pentecostalism are Londrina in Paraná state, as well the cities of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte (capital of Minas Gerais), especially the suburban and nearby areas of these cities. Lutherans are concentrated mostly in the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and in countryside regions of the states of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo.

As of the year 2000, the largest proportion of Protestants is found in North (19.8%), Central-West (18.9%) and Southeast (17.5%) regions. Among the state capitals, Rio de Janeiro has the largest proportion of non-Pentecostal Protestants in the country (10.07%), followed by Vitória, Porto Velho, Cuiabá and Manaus. But Goiânia is the state capital with the largest proportion of Pentecostal Protestants in the country (20.41%), followed by Boa Vista, Porto Velho, Belém and Belo Horizonte.[14][15]

Orthodox Christianity

The Eastern Orthodox Christian population is about 500,000, composed of churches brought over by waves of Lebanese, Syrian, Armenian, Greek, Russian and Ukrainian immigrants in the past century.[16]

Jehovah's Witnesses

In 2014 according to the denomination, Brazil had 767,449 Jehovah's Witnesses with 11,562 congregations and a ratio of 1 Witness to 256 residents.[17] However the 2010 census reported nearly 1.4 million people listed themselves as members.[1]

Latter-day Saints

In 2012, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported a membership of 1,173,533, with 1,940 congregations and 315 family history centers. The LDS Church now also has 6 temples spread out across the nation, in Campinas, Curitiba, Manaus, Porto Alegre, Recife, and São Paulo, with an additional temple under construction in Fortaleza.[18] This represents a dramatic differential from the 2010 national census that reported 226,509 self-identifying members,[19] causing some to question the membership numbers reported by the LDS church.[20]

Spiritism

Old Black Women and Men Spirits Images

The word Spiritism refers to the Spiritist Doctrine, which can be found in Allan Kardec's 5 main books. Spiritism does follow Jesus's principal and his moral teachings. With almost 4 million adherents in 2010, is the second largest Religion of Brazil. Many confuse Spiritism with Afro-Brazilian Religions like Umbanda, Candomblé and others that have a following of almost 600,000 adherents. One of the most unusual features of the rich Brazilian spiritual landscape are the sects which use ayahuasca (an Amazonian entheogenic tea), including Santo Daime, União do Vegetal, and Centro de Cultura Cósmica.

This syncretism, coupled with ideas prevalent during the military dicatorship, has resulted in a church for the secular, based on philosopher Auguste Comte's principles of positivism, based at the Positivist Church of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro.

Non-Christian Religions

There are small populations of people professing Buddhism (215,000), Judaism (107,000), Islam (35,000), Shinto, Rastafarian and a few other religions. They comprise 20th century immigrants from East Asia, the Middle East, or of recent immigrant descent.

African and indigenous religions

People during a celebration of Orisha, in Candomblé of Ile Ase Ijino Ilu Orossi.
Figure of a Devotee of Shango Holding an Oshe Shango, Brooklyn Museum

Afro-Brazilian religions are syncretic religions, such as Candomblé, that have many followers, mainly Afro-Brazilians. They are concentrated mainly in large urban centers in the Northeast, such as Salvador, Recife, or Rio de Janeiro in the Southeast. The cities of São Paulo, Porto Alegre and Florianópolis have a great number of followers, but in the South of Brazil the most common African influenced Ritual is Almas e Angola, which is an Umbanda like ritual. Nowadays, there are over 70 "terreiros" (temples) in Florianópolis, which are the places where the rituals run. In addition to Candomblé which is the survival of West African religion, there is also Umbanda which blends Spiritism, indigenous and African beliefs. There is prejudice about "African cults" in Brazil's south, but there are Catholics, Protestants and other kinds of Christians who also believe in the Orishas, and go both to churches and terreiros.

Candomblé, Umbanda, Batuque, Xango, and Tambor de Mina, were originally brought by black slaves shipped from Africa to Brazil. These black slaves would summon their gods, called Orixas, Voduns or Inkices with chants and dances they had brought from Africa. These cults were persecuted throughout most of Brazilian history, largely because they were believed to be pagan or even satanic. However, the Brazilian republican government legalized all of them on the grounds of the necessary separation between the State and the Church in 1889.

In current practice, Umbanda followers leave offerings of food, candles and flowers in public places for the spirits. Candomblé terreiros are more hidden from general view, except in famous festivals such as Iyemanja Festival and the Waters of Oxala in the Northeast.

From Bahia northwards there are different practices such as Catimbo, Jurema with heavy indigenous elements. All over the country, but mainly in the Amazon rainforest, there are many Indians still practicing their original traditions. Many of their beliefs and use of naturally occurring plant derivatives are incorporated into African, Spirtitualists and folk religion.

Despite these religions have experienced much greater freedom since the decline of the influence of the Roman Catholic Church, they have come under an increasing hostility from Protestant churches, with attacks on temples and defacement of statues of the gods.[21][22] In recent years measures have been taken to counter religious conflict.[21]

Buddhism

Main article: Buddhism in Brazil

Buddhism is probably the largest of all minority religions, with about 215,000 followers. This is mostly because of the large Japanese Brazilian community. About a fifth of the Japanese Brazilian community are followers of Buddhism. Japanese Buddhist sects like Jodo Shinshu, Nichiren Buddhism (most notably the Soka Gakkai), and Zen are the most popular. Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana) is also present, since Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche founded the Khadro Ling center in Três Coroas, Rio Grande do Sul (where he lived until his death in 2002), and many other institutions across the country. However, in recent years both Chinese Mahayana and South East Asian Theraveda sects are gaining popularity. Buddhism was introduced to Brazil in the early twentieth century, by Japanese immigrants, although now, 60% of Japanese Brazilians are now Christian due to missionary activities and intermarriage. Nevertheless, Japanese Brazilian culture has a substantial Buddhist influence.

Judaism

Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue, (founded 1636) in Recife was the first Jewish congregation in the Americas.
A synagogue in São Paulo.

The first Jews arrived in Brazil as cristãos-novos (New Christians) or conversos, names applied to Jews or Muslims who converted to Catholicism, most of them forcibly. According to the Inquisition reports, many New Christians living in Brazil during colonial times were condemned for secretly observing Jewish customs.[23]

In 1630, the Dutch conquered portions of northeast Brazil and permitted the open practice of any religion. Many Jews came from the Netherlands to live in Brazil in the area dominated by the Dutch. Most of them were descendants of the Portuguese Jews who had been expelled from Portugal in 1497. In 1636, the Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue, the first synagogue in the Americas was built in Recife, the capital of Dutch Brazil.[23] The original building remains to this day,[24] but the Jews were forced to leave Brazil when the Portuguese-Brazilians retook the land in 1654.[25]

The first Jews that stayed in Brazil and openly practiced their religion came when the first Brazilian constitution granted freedom of religion in 1824, just after the independence. They were mainly Moroccan Jews, descendants of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews who had been expelled from Spain in 1492 and Portugal in 1497.

The first wave of Sephardic Jews was exceeded by the larger wave of immigration by Ashkenazi Jews that came at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, mainly from Russia, Poland, Belarus and Ukraine. A final significant group came, fleeing Nazism or the destruction that followed World War II.

Brazil has the 9th largest Jewish community in the world, about 107,329 by 2010, according to the IBGE Census.[26] The Jewish Confederation of Brazil (CONIB) estimates that there are more than 120,000 Jews in Brazil,[27] with the lower figure representing active practitioners.

Mosque in São Paulo.

Islam

Main article: Islam in Brazil
Further information: Malê Revolt

According to the 2010 Census, there were 35,167 Muslims in Brazil.[28] The Federation of Muslim Associations of Brazil estimates there are about 1.5 million Muslims and others say about .4 to .5 million.[29] Islam in Brazil may be presumed to have first been practiced by African slaves brought from West Africa. Scholars note that Brazil received more enslaved Muslims than anywhere else in the Americas.[30] During Ramadan, in January 1835, a small group of black slaves and freedmen from Salvador da Bahia, inspired by Muslim teachers, rose up against the government in the Malê Revolt, the largest slave rebellion in Brazil. (Muslims were called malê in Bahia at this time, from Yoruba imale that designated a Yoruba Muslim.) Fearing the example might be followed, the Brazilian authorities began to watch the malês very carefully and in subsequent years intensive efforts were made to force conversions to Catholicism and erase the popular memory of and affection towards Islam.[31] However, the African Muslim community was not erased overnight, and as late as 1910 it is estimated there were still some 100,000 African Muslims living in Brazil.[32]

A recent trend has been the increase in conversions to Islam among non-Arab citizens.[33]

Hinduism

Most of the Brazilian Hindus are ethnic East Indians. However, there are new converts due to the missionary effects of Hare Krishnas.

There are 1,500 PIOs (People of Indian origin) and about 400 NRIs (Non Resident Indian) in Brazil.

First wave of Immigration- A small number of Sindhis had arrived here from Suriname and Central America in 1960 to set up shop as traders in the city of Manaus.

Second wave of Immigration Consisted of university professors who arrived in the 1960s and also in the 1970s.

Other PIOs migrated to this country from various African countries, mainly from former Portuguese colonies (especially Mozambique), soon after their independence in the 1970s. The number of PIOs in Brazil has been augmented in recent years by the arrival of nuclear scientists and computer professionals.

There are as many as 1,500 PIOs among the Indian community in Brazil, and only 400 NRIs, since foreign nationals can acquire local citizenship without any discrimination after 15 years of domicile in this country. Brazil has also no bar against dual citizenship. But in recent years, it has been granting immigration visas only in high technology fields. The only exceptions are the Sindhis in Manaus (who have formed an Indian Association with about a hundred members) and the Goans in São Paulo.

Beside the PIOs, there are Hindu organizations such as ISKCON, Brahma Kumaris are very active in Brasil. The number of adherents of these organizations is not officially recorded, but is estimated to be a few thousands.

Bahá'í Faith

The Bahá'í Faith in Brazil started in 1919 with Bahá'ís first visiting the country that year,[34] and the first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly in Brazil was established in 1928. There followed a period of growth with the arrival of coordinated pioneers from the United States finding national Brazilian converts and in 1961 an independent national Bahá'í community was formed. During the 1992 Earth Summit, which was held in Brazil, the international and local Bahá'í community were given the responsibility for organizing a series of different programs, and since then the involvements of the Bahá'í community in the country have continued to multiply. The Association of Religion Data Archives (relying on World Christian Encyclopedia) estimated some 42211 Bahá'ís in 2005.[35]

Beliefs

A 2007 poll, made by Datafolha and published in newspaper Folha de S. Paulo, asked diverse questions about the beliefs of the Brazilian people. In this poll, 64% reported to be Catholics, 17% Pentecostal Protestants, 5% non-Pentecostal Protestants, 3% Kardecists or Spiritists, 3% followers of other religions, 7% non-religious or atheists. Less than 1% reported to follow Afro-Brazilian religions.[36][37][38]

Belief in God and the Devil
About Jesus Christ
Belief in saints
About the Catholic priests
About different religions

Table of Religions in Brazil

Distribution of the Brazilian population according to their religions and faiths (data from the demographic census of 2000)[39]
Some rows in the table that show "(total)" are actually sub-totals of subsequent rows, which are lighter and marked with a dot ( . ) at left. The faiths and groups of faiths are organized by descending number of followers.
Religion or faith Total "by region" "by gender"
urban rural men women
contingent % contingent % contingent % contingent % contingent %
(total) 169.872.856 100,00 137.925.238 100,00 31.947.618 100,00 83.602.317 100,00 86.270.539 100,00
Roman Catholics (total) 125.518.774 73,89 98.939.872 71,73 26.578.903 83,20 62.171.584 74,37 63.347.189 73,43
· Roman Catholic Church 124.980.132 73,57 98.475.959 71,40 26.504.174 82,96 61.901.888 74,04 63.078.244 73,12
· Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church 500.582 0,295 430.245 0,312 70.337 0,220 250.201 0,299 250.380 0,290
Greek Orthodox Church 38.060 0,022 33.668 0,024 4.392 0,014 19.495 0,023 18.565 0,022
Protestant Churches (total) 26.184.941 15,41 22.736.910 16,48 3.448.031 10,79 11.444.063 13,69 14.740.878 17,09
· Missionaries - traditional Protestantism (total) 6.939.765 4,085 6.008.100 4,356 931.665 2,916 3.062.194 3,663 3.877.571 4,495
· · Baptist 3.162.691 1,862 2.912.163 2,111 250.528 0,784 1.344.946 1,609 1.817.745 2,107
· · Seventh-day Adventist Church 1.209.842 0,712 1.029.949 0,747 179.893 0,563 538.981 0,645 670.860 0,778
· · Lutheran Church 1.062.145 0,625 681.345 0,494 380.800 1,192 523.994 0,627 538.152 0,624
· · Presbyterian 981.064 0,578 904.552 0,656 76.512 0,239 427.458 0,511 553.606 0,642
· · Methodist Church 340.963 0,201 325.342 0,236 15.620 0,049 146.236 0,175 194.727 0,226
· · Congregational 148.836 0,088 125.117 0,091 23.719 0,074 64.937 0,078 83.899 0,097
· · other 34.224 0,020 29.630 0,021 4.593 0,014 15.642 0,019 18.582 0,022
· Pentecostal (total) 17.617.307 10,37 15.256.085 11,06 2.361.222 7,391 7.677.125 9,183 9.940.182 11,52
· · Assembly of God 8.418.140 4,956 6.857.429 4,972 1.560.711 4,885 3.804.658 4,551 4.613.482 5,348
· · Christian Congregation of Brazil 2.489.113 1,465 2.148.941 1,558 340.172 1,065 1.130.329 1,352 1.358.785 1,575
· · Universal Church of the Kingdom of God 2.101.887 1,237 1.993.488 1,445 108.399 0,339 800.227 0,957 1.301.660 1,509
· · International Church of the Foursquare Gospel 1.318.805 0,776 1.253.276 0,909 65.529 0,205.5214 545.016 0,6526445 773.789 0,897
· · God is Love Pentecostal Church 774.830 0,456 649.252 0,471 125.577 0,393 331.707 0,397 443.123 0,514
· · Igreja Cristã Maranata 277.342 0,163 266.539 0,193 10.803 0,034 117.789 0,141 159.553 0,185
· · Brazil for Christ Pentecostal Church 175.618 0,103 159.713 0,116 15.904 0,050 76.132 0,091 99.485 0,115
· · Igreja Tabernáculo Evangélico de Jesus 128.676 0,076 120.891 0,088 7.785 0,024 51.557 0,062 77.119 0,089
· · Igreja Cristã de Nova Vida 92.315 0,054 91.008 0,066 1.307 0,004 35.352 0,042 56.964 0,066
· · Other 1.840.581 1,084 1.715.548 1,244 125.033 0,391 784.359 0,938 1.056.222 1,224
· no institutional links (total) 1.046.487 0,616 945.874 0,686 100.612 0,315 454.087 0,543 592.400 0,687
· · Pentecostal 336.259 0,198 305.734 0,222 30.525 0,096 144.707 0,173 191.552 0,222
· · Other 710.227 0,418 640.140 0,464 70.087 0,219 309.380 0,370 400.847 0,465
· Other evangelical 581.383 0,342 526.850 0,382 54.532 0,171 250.657 0,300 330.725 0,383
Kardecist Spiritism 2.262.401 1,332 2.206.418 1,600 55.983 0,175 928.967 1,111 1.333.434 1,546
Other Christian (total) 1.540.064 0,907 1.441.888 1,045 98.175 0,307 646.264 0,773 893.800 1,036
· Jehovah's Witnesses 1.104.886 0,650 1.045.600 0,758 59.286 0,186 450.583 0,539 654.303 0,758
· Latter-day Saints (Mormons) 199.645 0,118 195.198 0,142 4.446 0,014 92.197 0,110 107.448 0,125
· Other 235.533 0,139 201.090 0,146 34.443 0,108 103.484 0,124 132.049 0,153
Umbanda 397.431 0,234 385.148 0,279 12.283 0,038 172.393 0,206 225.038 0,261
Buddhism 214.873 0,126 203.772 0,148 11.101 0,035 96.722 0,116 118.152 0,137
New Eastern Religions (total) 151.080 0,089 145.914 0,106 5.166 0,016 58.784 0,070 92.295 0,107
· Church of World Messianity 109.310 0,064 106.467 0,077 2.843 0,009 41.478 0,050 67.831 0,079
· Other 41.770 0,025 39.447 0,029 2.323 0,007 17.306 0,021 24.464 0,028
Candomblé 127.582 0,075 123.214 0,089 4.368 0,014 57.200 0,068 70.382 0,082
Jews 86.825 0,051 86.316 0,063 509 0,002 43.597 0,052 43.228 0,050
Esoteric Traditions 58.445 0,034 55.693 0,040 2.752 0,009 27.637 0,033 30.808 0,036
Islamic 27.239 0,016 27.055 0,020 183 0,001 16.232 0,019 11.007 0,013
Spiritism 25.889 0,015 24.507 0,018 1.382 0,004 10.901 0,013 14.987 0,017
Native Brazilian Traditions 17.088 0,010 6.463 0,005 10.625 0,033 9.175 0,011 7.913 0,009
Hinduism 2.905 0,002 2.861 0,002 43 0,000 1.521 0,002 1.383 0,002
Other religions 15.484 0,009 13.243 0,010 2.241 0,007 7.393 0,009 8.091 0,009
Other Eastern Religions 7.832 0,005 7.244 0,005 588 0,002 3.764 0,005 4.068 0,005
No religion 12.492.403 7,354 10.895.989 7,900 1.596.414 4,997 7.540.682 9,020 4.951.721 5,740
No declaration 383.953 0,226 312.011 0,226 71.943 0,225 206.245 0,247 177.708 0,206
Undetermined 357.648 0,211 310.720 0,225 46.929 0,147 159.191 0,190 198.458 0,230

See also

Pie Chart notes

  1. does not include the Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church which broke away from Rome in 1945
  2. Includes Lutheran, Presbyterian, Baptist, Adventist, Methodist, and Congregational churches
  3. This is the largest Pentecostal group in Brazil
  4. This is the second largest Pentecostal group in Brazil
  5. Includes the Jehovah's Witnesses (0.73%), Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church (0.29% of the population), Latter-day Saints(0.12%), and Orthodox Church (0.07%)
  6. Includes Umbanda and Candomblé (0.33%), Judaism (0.06%), Islam (0.02%), and various Eastern religions (0.22%)
  7. Includes 0.32% atheists and 0.07% agnostics

References

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  2. Facts of Basilica of Aparecida
  3. 1 2 "Brazil". Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs. Retrieved 2011-12-12.
  4. Simon Romero, "A Laboratory for Revitalizing Catholicism," New York Times Feb 14, 2013
  5. "Brazil's Changing Religious Landscape". Pew Research Center. July 18, 2013. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  6. Michael Astor. Once-Barred Practice Flourishes in Brazil. African-Influenced Candomble Challenged by Pentecostals, Modern Interpretations. The Washington Post, January 1, 2005; Page B07. Accessed: August 8, 2012.
  7. Decreased the number of Catholic and African religions. Increased the number of Protestants (Census 2000)
  8. Somer Wiggins. Followers of Brazil’s Umbanda religion worship despite discrimination. July 2, 2012. McClatchy. Accessed August 8, 2012.
  9. IBOPE - Instituto Brasileiro de Opinião e Estatística. Pesquisa de Opinião Pública sobre Criacionismo. Dec. 2004. Accessed 2008-11-03
  10. IBGE - Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics). 2000 Census. Accessed 2007-04-24
  11. Folha Online - Mundo. Estagnação econômica explica recuo do catolicismo no Brasil, diz FGV. 2005-04-20
  12. IBGE - Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics). Notícias - Estudo revela 60 anos de transformações sociais no país. Accessed 2008-11-03.
  13. Patrícia Birman, and Márcia Pereira Leite. "Whatever Happened to What Used to Be the Largest Catholic Country in the World?," Daedalus (2000) 129#2 pp. 271-290 in JSTOR
  14. Folha de S.Paulo. 64% dos brasileiros se declaram católicos
  15. G1 - Globo.com. Brasil - Notícias - Em 60 anos, Brasil ficou mais mestiço, evangélico e "casado"
  16. Orthodox Church in Brazil
  17. 2015 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses
  18. "Brazil - LDS Statistics and Church Facts". The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved 2012-09-17.
  19. "População residente, por situação do domicílio e sexo, segundo os grupos de religião - Brasil - 2010" (PDF). Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. Retrieved 2013-03-21.
  20. Stack, Peggy Fletcher (16 July 2012). "Brazil mystery: Case of the missing Mormons (913,045 of them, to be exact)". Salt Lake City Tribune. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  21. 1 2 Neo-Pentecostalism and Afro-Brazilian religions: explaining the attacks on symbols of the African religious heritage in contemporary Brazil. Translation from: Mana, Rio de Janeiro, v.13 n.1, p. 207-236, Apr. 2007.
  22. Dom Phillips. Afro-Brazilian religions struggle against Evangelical hostility. Washington Post, February 6, 2015.
  23. 1 2 Oreck, Alden. The Virtual Jewish History Tour: Brazil. Jewish Virtual Library. Accessed 2008-06-09
  24. Synagogue in Brazilian town Recife considered oldest in the Americas. Haaretz 2007-11-12. Accessed 2008-06-09
  25. Friedman, Saul. Jews and the American Slave Trade, p. 60. Transaction Publishers, 1997. ISBN 0-7658-0660-6
  26. 2010 Brazilian census Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Retrieved on 2013-11-13
  27. U.S. Department of State. Brazil, Retrieved on 12.10.2013
  28. ftp://ftp.ibge.gov.br/Censos/Censo_Demografico_2010/Caracteristicas_Gerais_Religiao_Deficiencia/tab1_4.pdf
  29. "International Religious Freedom Report for 2013: Brazil". United States Department of State. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  30. Lovejoy, Paul E., Muslim Encounters With Slavery in Brazil, Markus Wiener Pub., 2007. ISBN 1-55876-378-3.
  31. Joao Jose Reis, Slave Rebellion in Brazil: The Muslim Uprising of 1835 in Bahia, Johns Hopkins University Press, London 1993
  32. Steven Barboza, American Jihad, 1993
  33. "Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor International Religious Freedom Report 2009" October 26, 2009, US Department of State report on Brazil
  34. Lamb, Artemus (November 1995). The Beginnings of the Bahá'í Faith in Latin America:Some Remembrances, English Revised and Amplified Edition. 1405 Killarney Drive, West Linn OR, 97068, United States of America: M L VanOrman Enterprises.
  35. "Most Baha'i Nations (2005)". QuickLists > Compare Nations > Religions >. The Association of Religion Data Archives. 2005. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
  36. Data Folha - Opinião Pública. 64% dos brasileiros se declaram católicos 2007-05-05. Accessed 200-11-03
  37. Renascença Website. Quase todos os brasileiros acreditam em Deus
  38. 97% dos Brasileiros Dizem Acreditar totalmente na Existência de Deus e 75% Acreditam no Diabo
  39. IBGE - Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics). Table 2102 - Resident population according to home, religion and gender, Census of 2000.
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