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Religious Trends in Brazil: RioGringa Reports Posted by on Jan 28, 2008 in Customs

Today I point you to a terrific post by RioGringa about religion in Brazil, specifically the trends related to religious affiliation over the past few decades.

Among the highlights: Catholicism is on the decline, Candomblé (the afro-syncretic religion) is gaining a substantial white membership, and Atheism is on the rise.

As Rachel (RioGringa) writes:

Despite these trends, a recent poll shows that though more Brazilians are turning away from religion than ever, atheism is a cultural taboo. When asked who they would vote for for President, 84% said they´d vote for a black person, 57% said they´d vote for a woman, 32% said they´d vote for a gay person, and a measly 13% said they´d vote for an atheist.

The negative side is interesting too. Only 1% said they wouldn´t vote for a black person, only 12% said they wouldn´t vote for a woman, and then 34% said they wouldn´t vote for a gay person, and then 59% said they wouldn´t vote for an atheist.

Very interesting indeed… thoughts anyone?

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Comments:

  1. jasmina grega:

    ONLY 12 per cent wouldnt vote for a woman???
    sounds too much to me..
    disculpa mas o racisismo e coisa mais perigoso que gente pensa..
    imagine that at least, half of the people that have been asked must have been women!!!!
    so how could be if they ask just men???
    meu deus do ceu!

  2. Mike Smith:

    I’m interested in knowing how brasileiros feel about the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama. Please comment, obrigado.

    Mike Smith
    Washington, DC

  3. David Taylor:

    No surprise here. Most Catholics I know go to church only when there is a funeral, marriage or baptism. The only thing the Catholic church has to offer is forgiveness for doing whatever you think you did bad; then you can go out and do it all over again, repeating the process. Catholicism is a great religion for those who need one. You can do what pleases you without worrying about the consequences.

  4. Rachel:

    thanks for the shout out!

  5. Leanna:

    I understand that Protestant churches are also growing, especially those that are Pentecostal in nature. That was what the US press reported when Pope Benedict visited Brazil shortly after he became pope. It seems that there are a good number of strong Protestant churches in the Brazilian city where I live.

  6. beto:

    The last thing we need is fanatic evangelicals.

  7. Dave Eastman:

    Fanatics of any kind is what we don’t need.
    What we need is to find common ground, work together to eliminate misunderstandings, myths about each other, bigotry of all kinds and try to help our fellow men. Think of all the energy that is wasted on arguing unimportant (or even important) points of doctrine. If you want to settle some point of dogma, study about it and ask your maker what is true. He will tell you in your heart. You don’t need to blindly follow what your preacher tells you. Follow what James says. “Ask of God.” “Peça-a a Deus”