Brazil: Contemporary Affairs

Generally, the intersection of religion and politics in Brazil has developed into a peaceful coexistence, although there have been some recent episodes of tension and conflict. In March 2009, President Luiz Ignacio da Silva publicly chided the Archbishop of Olinda and Recife over the latter’s excommunication of several people involved in performing an abortion on a 9-year-old girl who was raped by her stepfather. This resulted in a public defense of the bishop by the head of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. Within Brazil’s religious sector specifically, the development of inclusive gay churches has ignited controversy and stirred criticism from evangelical and Catholic Churches. Although Brazil is home to the world’s largest Roman Catholic population and the Catholic Church remains extremely influential, the country’s 2010 census figures marked the Catholic population at 68 percent - the lowest figure since the census began tracking religion in 1872. Meanwhile, Brazil’s growing Protestant community continued to find a public voice as the annual “March for Jesus” in Sao Paulo drew over a million members from various Evangelical churches. In recent years, there have also been some incidents of social conflict relating to discrimination against followers of religious minorities such as the Afro-Brazilian faith known as Candomble. In November of 2011, Brazil indigenous Guarani leader Nisio Gomes was shot dead in western Brazil. Gomes was part of a Guarani Kaiowa group that had returned to their ancestral land after being evicted by ranchers. The Rio de Janeiro State Legislature has attempted to respond to these problems by creating a religious intolerance hotline to report incident of religious violence and help victims of abuse.