Over the course of 500 years, Brazil has had many religious influences. The Portuguese brought Roman Catholicism to Brazil in the 1500’s. When early Brazilian agronomists began importing slaves from Africa inthe 1540’s, the African religions were brought with them. Theywere the precursors of such religions as Candomblé. The mixtureof Catholicism with African paganism resulted in religions similar to Santería– the worship of Saints. Though Brazil is the second largest Christiancountry in the world, many practice an Afro-Brazilian religion.
The Christian Religions
Christianity has a very important place in Brazilian society. After all, Brazil is the second largest Christian country on Earth.
Roman Catholicism
Though Brazil has no official or state religion, Roman Catholicism is by far, the religion of the majority of the inhabitants of Brazil. Brazil's deep roots in Roman Catholicism were first instilled by Portuguese missionaries, which in the early days of colonization, were usually Jesuits. These foundations remain in modern day society and were given a boost in the 1950's by emigration from primarily Catholic countries such as Italy, Germany, and Poland.
What makes Brazilian Roman Catholicism different from any other form of Roman Catholicism is the way that many Brazilians have included famous religious figures from Brazil in their worship. For example, many people pray to figures like Padre Cícero, a deceased priest from the area of Ceará. There are also many pilgrimage spots around the country, one of them being where the patron saint of Brazil, Nossa Senhora da Aparecida (Our Lady of the Appearance) appeared.
Protestantism
In the past twenty or so years, Protestantism has increased in popularity. The 1991 census revealed 19.2% of Brazil to be Protestant. Members of the Assembly of God make up approximately half of this percentage. Denominations that have shown the greatest increases are fundamentalist groups that have strict rules in the manner of dress, gambling and drug use.
The Pagan Religions
As we discussed earlier, the African slaves in many instances syncretized their religions with the European ones, resulting in the Afro-Brazilian religions. We will discuss the two major Afro-Brazilian religions, Candomblé and Umbanda.
Candomblé
The most popular of these religions in Brazil is Candomblé. African influence is strongest in this sect, specifically that of the Yoruba (an African tribe). Though European influences are not difficult to find. Each African god (which is called an "orixá") has a saint counterpart, except for Oxalá, who is equated with Jesus Christ, is worshipped as a separate god himself. Three female former slaves founded a center for Candomblé in Salvador, Bahia in 1830. Previously, men had carried out all the priestly duties, but since women were required to do less manual labor as slaves, the priesthood was taken over by the women. Since many of the female African slaves were also white Portuguese masters' mistresses, the influence of Candomblé was spread evenly regardless of socioeconomic position.
Candomblé holds dearly the belief that healing of the soul is of utmost importance. The Candomblé ritual begins with an offering or invocation to Exu, the messenger through which they communicate with the orixás and builds into what they believe to be possession of their bodies by their patron orixá.
Umbanda
Umbanda is the second most popular of the Afro-Brazilian religions. It is also the newest and draws upon the most numerous religious sources: Hinduism, Buddhism, the Yoruba religion, as well as the Brazilian Indian religions. It was founded in 1904 and for the most part, uses Catholic saints' names instead of the African names for the orixás. Though practitioners of Umbanda fear that direct contact with the gods would kill or harm a mortal, they believe in consultation through mediums. Exu is consulted and asked for protection against evil in the beginning of the Umbanda ritual and then the priest or priestess goes into a trance and becomes "possessed," by spirits, which are usually Native American, or African ancestors. The followers of Umbanda believe that sprits heal through possession and that each time a person's body is possessed, it raises their own spirit to a higher level of consciousness. A type of "nirvana."