Roman Catholicism in Brazil - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope

Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

, curia

Curia

A curia in early Roman times was a subdivision of the people, i.e. more or less a tribe, and with a metonymy it came to mean also the meeting place where the tribe discussed its affairs...

in Rome, and the very influential Brazilian Conference of Bishops , composed by over four hundred primary and auxiliary bishops and archbishops. There are over 250 diocese

Diocese

A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...

s and other territorial jurisdictions in the country. The primate of Brazil is Dom Murilo Ramos Krieger

Murilo Ramos Krieger

Murilo Sebastião Ramos Krieger, S.C.J is the current archbishop of São Salvador da Bahia and therefore primate of Brazil since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI on 12 January 2011...

.

Roman Catholicism is the largest denomination in the country, where 145 million people, or 74% of the Brazilian population, are self-declared Catholics. These figures makes Brazil the single country with the largest Roman Catholic community in the world. However, for some sociologists of religion, Catholicism in Brazil is more of a tradition than a religious practice itself. Although it is common for Brazilian Catholics to be baptized and married in the Catholic Church, only 20% of self-declared Catholics attend Mass

Mass (liturgy)

"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...

and participate in church activities, according to the CNBB. Thus, Brazil also has the largest number of lapsed Catholics in the world.

History

Tradition says that the first Mass

Mass

Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...

celebrated in Brazil took place on Easter

Easter

Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...

Sunday of the year 1500. It would had been celebrated by a priest who arrived in the country along with the Portuguese

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

explorers to claim possession of the newfound land. The first diocese in Brazil was erected in 1551.

Brazil's strong Catholic heritage can be traced to the Iberian missionary zeal, with the 15th-century goal of spreading Christianity to the so-called "infidels", in other words, Native-Brazilians

Indigenous peoples in Brazil

The Indigenous peoples in Brazil comprise a large number of distinct ethnic groups who inhabited the country prior to the European invasion around 1500...

. At a given time, the Church missions began to hamper the government policy of exploiting Natives. In 1782, the Jesuits were suppressed, and the government tightened its control over the Church. In addition to convert Natives, there were also strong efforts to enforce compliance with Catholicism, including the Inquisition

Inquisition

The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...

, which was not formally established in Brazil but nonetheless functioned widely in Portuguese colonies.

In the late 19th century, the Catholic population of Iberian origin was reinforced by a large number of Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

Catholics who immigrated to Brazil, as well as some Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

and German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

Catholic immigrants. In 1889, Brazil became a republic and approved a constitution separating the Church from the State

Separation of church and state

The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....

, a trend followed by all of the country's seven republican constitutions. Prior to that, during the Empire of Brazil, Catholicism was the official religion of the country. In practice, however, separation of Church and state in the country is very weak. Government officials generally avoid taking action that may offend the Church.

A recent example of the Church's influence over political questions was the change conducted by the federal government in the Third National Program of Human Rights in regard to its proposal to legalize abortion

Abortion

Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...

, after pressure from the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops. That particular change, along with others, was denounced by the Amnesty International

Amnesty International

Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...

. Nevertheless, the government kept issues that upset the Church in the Program, such as its support for same-sex marriage

Same-sex marriage

Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....

and same-sex adoption.

In the late 20th century, the Church's liberation theology

Liberation theology

Liberation theology is a Christian movement in political theology which interprets the teachings of Jesus Christ in terms of a liberation from unjust economic, political, or social conditions...

movement, which focuses on the poor as the primary recipients of Christ's message, helped in the quest for social justice. The church organized Ecclesiastical Base Communities

Basic ecclesial community

Basic Ecclesial Communities , also called Basic Christian Communities, Small Christian Communities. Some contend that the movement has its origin and inspiration from Liberation Theology in Latin America...

throughout the country to work for social and political causes at the local level. Despite the support of the higher clergy to the military, the progressive wing managed to make the Church practically the only legitimate focus of resistance and defense of basic human rights

Human rights

Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

during the military regime. When then Cardinal Ratzinger

Pope Benedict XVI

Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...

became responsible for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith , previously known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition , and after 1904 called the Supreme...

, he launched a successful campaign against the liberation theology, and the conservative wing of the Church gained power. Catholics then saw the rise of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal

Catholic Charismatic Renewal

The Catholic Charismatic Renewal is a movement within the Catholic Church. Worship is characterized by vibrant Masses, as well as prayer meetings featuring prophecy, healing and "praying in tongues." This movement is based on the belief that certain charismata , bestowed by the Holy Spirit, such as...

movement, as a way to counter the rapid growth of Pentecostal Protestantism

Protestantism

Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...

in the country. According to Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

Pew Research Center

The Pew Research Center is an American think tank organization based in Washington, D.C. that provides information on issues, attitudes and trends shaping the United States and the world. The Center and its projects receive funding from The Pew Charitable Trusts. In 1990, Donald S...

, "pentecostalism no longer is something confined outside the Roman Catholic Church, it is now firmly within the form of various charismatic tendencies and movements".

During his five day visit to Brazil on May 2007, Pope Benedict XVI canonized Friar Galvão, who became the first Brazilian-born saint. Both the Pope's visit and the canonisation aimed at reinvigorating the local church.

Demographics

According to a poll conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, about 60 percent of the urban population of Brazil claims a Catholic affiliation. Religious syncretism

Syncretism

Syncretism is the combining of different beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term means "combining", but see below for the origin of the word...

is widespread among Brazilian Catholics. There is an overlay of Afro-Brazilian religions (like Candomblé

Candomblé

Candomblé is an African-originated or Afro-Brazilian religion, practised chiefly in Brazil by the "povo de santo" . It originated in the cities of Salvador, the capital of Bahia and Cachoeira, at the time one of the main commercial crossroads for the distribution of products and slave trade to...

, Macumba

Macumba

Macumba is a word of African origins. Various explanations of its meaning include "a musical instrument", the name of a Central African deity, and simply "magic". It was the name used for all Bantu religious practices mainly in Bahia Afro-Brazilian in the 19th Century...

and Umbanda

Umbanda

Umbanda is an Afro-Brazilian religion that blends African religions with Catholicism, Spiritism and Kardecism, and considerable indigenous lore....

) with Catholic beliefs and practices, which many Catholic Brazilians do not find inconsistent with their faith. An example is the Feast of Bonfim, a ritual in which mães-de-santo

Mãe-de-santo

A Mãe-de-santo is a priestess in Umbanda, Candomblé and other African-Brazilian religions. In Portuguese those words means mother of saint, which is a improper translation from the Yoruba language word "iyalorishá", a title given to priest women in African religions. Iyá means mother, and the...

gather to wash the stairs of the Church of Nosso Senhor do Bonfim in Salvador, Bahia

Salvador, Bahia

Salvador is the largest city on the northeast coast of Brazil and the capital of the Northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. Salvador is also known as Brazil's capital of happiness due to its easygoing population and countless popular outdoor parties, including its street carnival. The first...

. Catholics are far more likely to believe in good luck charms, fortune-tellers, faith-healers and astrology

Astrology

Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...

than converts to Protestantism. While official Catholicism rejects these beliefs as superstitious

Superstition

Superstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any process in the physical world linking the two events....

, they are a risk inherent in the Catholic imagination, which sees God as present in the objects, events and persons of his creation.

More than one out of five of those who were raised Catholics leave the church, most of them to join the group of those with no religious affiliation

Irreligion

Irreligion is defined as an absence of religion or an indifference towards religion. Sometimes it may also be defined more narrowly as hostility towards religion. When characterized as hostility to religion, it includes antitheism, anticlericalism and antireligion. When characterized as...

and to Protestantism

Protestantism

. However, Catholicism has the highest rate of retention. More than two-fifths of those who were raised Protestant are no longer Protestant; the Catholic Church picks up 16 percent of those who were raised Protestants. Religious change in Brazil is frequent.

Brazilian Catholics have the highest score in the world on the image of God as loving and as mother. They are also more likely to see human nature

Human nature

Human nature refers to the distinguishing characteristics, including ways of thinking, feeling and acting, that humans tend to have naturally....

as good rather than corrupt, and the world as good rather than evil. Brazilian Catholics are less likely to believe in the literal, word-for-word interpretation of the Bible

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

than Protestants. They are also more likely to accept premarital sex, cohabitation before marriage, homosexuality

Homosexuality

Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...

and abortion

Abortion

. About 40 percent attend Masses at least once a month — approximately the same level as that of American Catholics. Almost 75 percent pray every day, but only 12 percent engage in Church activities. Only 26 percent say they are "very religious".

Catholicism by state

Rank	State	%	Largest denomination
1	Piauí Piauí Piauí is one of the states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country.Piauí has the shortest coastline of any of the non-landlocked Brazilian states at 66 km , and the capital, Teresina, is the only state capital in the north east to be located inland...	90	Catholic
2	Ceará Ceará Ceará is one of the 27 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is currently the 8th largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the main touristic destinations in Brazil. The state capital is the city of...	86
3	Paraíba Paraíba Paraíba Paraíba Paraíba (Tupi: pa'ra a'íba: "bad to navigation"; Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: is a state of Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Northeast, and is bordered by Rio Grande do Norte to the north, Ceará to the west, Pernambuco to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the east...	84
4	Rio Grande do Norte Rio Grande do Norte Rio Grande do Norte is one of the states of Brazil, located in the northeastern region of the country, occupying the northeasternmost tip of the South American continent. Because of its geographic position, Rio Grande do Norte has a strategic importance. The capital and largest city is Natal...	83
5	Maranhão Maranhão Maranhão is a northeastern state of Brazil. To the north lies the Atlantic Ocean. Maranhão is neighbored by the states of Piauí, Tocantins and Pará. The people of Maranhão have a distinctive accent...	82
5	Sergipe Sergipe Sergipe , is the smallest state of the Brazilian Federation, located on the northeastern Atlantic coast of the country. It borders on two other states, Bahia to the south and west and Alagoas to the north, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean...	82
7	Santa Catarina Santa Catarina (state) Santa Catarina is a state in southern Brazil with one of the highest standards of living in Latin America. Its capital is Florianópolis, which mostly lies on the Santa Catarina Island. Neighbouring states are Rio Grande do Sul to the south and Paraná to the north. It is bounded on the east by...	80
8	Alagoas Alagoas Alagoas is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco ; Sergipe ; Bahia ; and the Atlantic Ocean . It occupies an area of 27,767 km², being slightly larger than Haiti...	79
9	Minas Gerais Minas Gerais Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...	78
10	Tocantins Tocantins Tocantins may refer to:* Tocantins, a state in Brazil* Tocantins River, a river in Brazil* Survivor: Tocantins, a reality show set in Tocantins, Brazil* Tocantins Esporte Clube, a Brazilian football club...	77
11	Paraná Paraná (state) Paraná is one of the states of Brazil, located in the South of the country, bordered on the north by São Paulo state, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Santa Catarina state and the Misiones Province of Argentina, and on the west by Mato Grosso do Sul and the republic of Paraguay,...	76
11	Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...	76
13	Pernambuco Pernambuco Pernambuco is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. To the north are the states of Paraíba and Ceará, to the west is Piauí, to the south are Alagoas and Bahia, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. There are about of beaches, some of the most beautiful in the...	74
	Bahia Bahia Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
	Pará Pará Pará is a state in the north of Brazil. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest it also borders Guyana and Suriname, and to the northeast it borders the Atlantic Ocean. The capital is Belém.Pará is the most populous state...
	Amapá Amapá Amapá is one of the states of Brazil, located in the extreme north, bordering French Guiana and Suriname to the north. To the east is the Atlantic Ocean, and to the south and west is the Brazilian state of Pará. Perhaps one of the main features of the state is the River Oiapoque, as it was once...
17	Mato Grosso Mato Grosso Mato Grosso is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest in area, located in the western part of the country.Neighboring states are Rondônia, Amazonas, Pará, Tocantins, Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul. It also borders Bolivia to the southwest...	73
18	Amazonas	71
19	São Paulo São Paulo (state) São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...	70
20	Mato Grosso do Sul Mato Grosso do Sul Mato Grosso do Sul is one of the states of Brazil.Neighboring Brazilian states are Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná. It also borders the countries of Paraguay and Bolivia to the west. The economy of the state is largely based on agriculture and cattle-raising...	69
21	Acre Acre (state) Acre is one of the 27 states of Brazil. It is situated in the southwest of the Northern Region, bordering Amazonas to the north, Rondônia to the east, Bolivia to the southeast and the Ucayali Region of Peru to the south and west. It occupies an area of 152,581.4 km2, being slightly smaller...	68
21	Goiás Goiás Goiás is a state of Brazil, located in the central part of the country. The name Goiás comes from the name of an indigenous community...	68
23	Roraima Roraima Roraima is the northernmost and least populated state of Brazil, located in the Amazon region. It borders the states of Amazonas and Pará, as well as the nations of Venezuela and Guyana. The population is 400,000 and the capital is Boa Vista...	66
23	Federal District Brazilian Federal District The Federal District is set apart for Brasília, the capital of Brazil. Located in a region called Planalto Central, or Central Plateau, the Federal District is divided in 29 administrative regions. Brasilia - place where the three branches of the Federal Government are located - is the main...	66
25	Espírito Santo Espírito Santo Espírito Santo is one of the states of southeastern Brazil, often referred to by the abbreviation "ES". Its capital is Vitória and the largest city is Vila Velha. The name of the state means literally "holy spirit" after the Holy Ghost of Christianity...	63
26	Rondônia Rondônia Rondônia is a state in Brazil, located in the north-western part of the country. To the west is a short border with the state of Acre, to the north is the state of Amazonas, in the east is Mato Grosso, and in the south is Bolivia. Its capital is Porto Velho. The state was named after Candido Rondon...	57
27	Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro (state) Rio de Janeiro is one of the 27 states of Brazil.Rio de Janeiro has the second largest economy of Brazil behind only São Paulo state.The state of Rio de Janeiro is located within the Brazilian geopolitical region classified as the Southeast...	56

Education

As the largest Catholic country in the world, Catholic education has a great tradition in Brazil. The Society of Jesus

Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...

founded the first schools in the country, with the aim of evangelizing Native-Brazilians. In the late 18th century, Portuguese minister Marquis of Pombal attacked and expelled the Jesuits from Portugal and its overseas possessions. He seized the Jesuit schools and introduced educational reforms all over the Empire

Portuguese Empire

The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...

. Since then, public schools have been secular, but private Catholic schools are among the best in the country.

According to the Ministry of Education, there are currently over 30 Catholic universities in Brazil. The first of them was the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul

Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul

The Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul is a private non-profit Catholic university, with three campuses, in the Brazilian cities of Porto Alegre, Uruguaiana, and Viamão...

, founded by Marist Brothers

Marist Brothers

The Marist Brothers, or Little Brothers of Mary, are a Catholic religious order of brothers and affiliated lay people. The order was founded in France, at La Valla-en-Gier near Lyon in 1817 by Saint Marcellin Champagnat, a young French priest of the Society of Mary...

on 1931. According to the Ministry of Education, the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro is the best private university in the country, and behind only the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in the State of Rio de Janeiro. The Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais

Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais

Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais is a private and non-profit Brazilian Catholic university located in Belo Horizonte, state of Minas Gerais. It is one of the largest and most prestigious Brazilian universities. In 2006 and 2010, PUC-MG was chosen the best private university in Brazil...

had been chosen by the Ministry as the best private university in the country, and the best in Minas Gerais

Minas Gerais

Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...

, the previous year. In 1969, the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo

Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo

The Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo and popular known as simply PUC or the Catholic University is a private and non-profit Catholic university. It is one of the largest and most prestigious Brazilian universities...

became the first higher education institute in Brazil to offer a post-graduation course.

External links

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History

Demographics

Catholicism by state

Education

See also

External links