Many worshipers even end up being expelled from their neighborhoods.
It’s also common for the sound of the atabaques - the sacred drums used in the liturgy - to be prohibited. Exú is a Candomblé divine figure who many evangelicals mistakenly identify with the devil. In marginal neighborhoods, posters and graffiti warn that “only Jesus expels Exú from people” are common. It’s a small minority, consisting of mostly Afro-Brazilian worshipers, who discreetly practice their faith in favelas and along the peripheries of cities, while evangelical churches multiply at a dizzying rate, with about 14,000 being opened each year.Ĭoexistence isn’t easy. On the other hand, religions with African roots represent only 0.3% of the Brazilian population. Today, that church even has its own political party, with 43 congresspeople. One of the theoretical origins of this growing feeling of rejection dates back to 1997, when Bishop Edir Macedo - of the powerful Universal Church of the Kingdom of God - published a book in which he accused Afro-Brazilian religions of being “demonic sects,” and Africa of being a cursed continent. Although it’s a heterogeneous group, with hundreds of different denominations, there are tensions with Catholics (because of their veneration of images, which they consider to be paganism) and especially with Afro-Brazilian religions. However, evangelicals have been growing exponentially in recent years and are expected to be the majority by 2032. CARLA CARNIEL (REUTERS)īrazil - an extremely religious country - is still the largest Catholic country in the world, with more than 108 million followers. A demonstration against police violence against the Black community, accompanied by a ceremony in memory of Mãe Bernadete Pacifico, in São Paulo, Brazil, on August 17, 2023.
Nogueira - who holds a PhD in Semiotics from the University of São Paulo and has written a book on religious intolerance - supports the usage of the term “ religious racism,” because most religious attacks in Brazil are directed against faiths that are seen to be linked to the Black community. On the other hand, display their Bible and the crucifix all the time… but we have to hide, in the middle of the 21st century,” he laments. “Some have neo-Pentecostal parents if they’re seen carrying those things, they’re kicked out of the house. He tells EL PAÍS by phone that to protect his “ filhos de santo” (his faithful), he has had to build some sinks and a closet in the space so that the clothes can stay there. During the ceremonies, bead necklaces, white clothes and turbans are used, which - in certain areas and among certain Christian sects - can be seen as demonic. Those who frequent the temple are accustomed to dealing with discrimination. Sidnei Nogueira is a babalorixá - a male priest - and runs a terreiro on the outskirts of São Paulo.
In Brazil, those who suffer the most from religious intolerance are the practitioners of African-based religions, such as Candomblé, Umbanda and Quimbanda. The latter offenses can result in sentences ranging from two to five years in jail. The crime of religious intolerance ranges from extreme cases - such as murder or daily assaults - to insults, threats and other types of discrimination for religious reasons. The incumbent government also accuses the previous administration of Jair Bolsonaro (2018-2022) of dismantling the system that facilitated these types of complaints. Last year, 113 complaints were filed, although the government acknowledges that this number may be higher, as many of these crimes are still considered to be fights between neighbors. According to the most recent data from the Ministry of Human Rights, cases have increased by 45% in the last two years. Investigators have pointed to the agrarian conflict as the main cause of the murder, but haven’t ruled out religious motives.Ĭrimes due to religious intolerance have grown in Brazil in recent years. A few weeks ago, two gunmen invaded her terreiro - the sacred place where ceremonies are held - and shot her dead. She was a respected quilombola leader (a community formed by the descendants of slaves who fled their masters) and ialorixá - a priestess of Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé.įor years, Bernadete had been fighting for the territorial integrity of her quilombo, located on the outskirts of Salvador and coveted by loggers and land speculators. Maria Bernadete Pacífico, 72, was an institution in Salvador de Bahía, in northeastern Brazil, where she was known simply as Mãe Bernadete.
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