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Brazil has the largest number of Catholics in the world. [18] Catholicism has been Brazil's main religion since the beginning of the 16th century. It was introduced among the Native Brazilians by Jesuits missionaries during colonial times, there was no freedom of religion. All Portuguese settlers and Brazilians were compulsorily bound to the ...
This union of religion and politics with Catholic clerics was supported with revenues paid to the state. The Catholic Church remained in charge of education and held jurisdiction over marriage and burial grounds. However, in early independent Brazil in many other matters, "religious toleration was fully tested and found to be a living letter". [10]
The Aztec and the Inca both made substantial use of religion to support their authority and power. This pre-existing role of religion in pre-Columbian culture made it relatively easy for the Spanish conquistadors to replace native religious structures with those of a Catholicism that was closely linked to the Spanish throne. [45]
Freedom of religion in Brazil is a constitutionally protected right, allowing believers the freedom to assemble and worship without limitation or interference. Non-traditional religions are well tolerated in the Brazilian culture. [1] [2] [3]
These figures made Brazil the single country with the largest Catholic community in the world. [8] [9] [10] In a 2022 report from the US Department of State, Catholics made up 50% of the population; [11] in a separate 2020 report from the Association of Religion Data Archives, Catholics made up 70.57% of the population. [12]
The status of religious freedom in South America varies from country to country. States can differ based on whether or not they guarantee equal treatment under law for followers of different religions, whether they establish a state religion (and the legal implications that this has for both practitioners and non-practitioners), the extent to which religious organizations operating within the ...
Amerindian people and Africans also played an important role in the formation of Brazilian language, cuisine, music, dance and religion. [ 5 ] [ 6 ] This diverse cultural background has helped show off many celebrations and festivals that have become known around the world, such as the Brazilian Carnival and the Bumba Meu Boi .
Since 1970, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics has included sem religião (Portuguese for no religion) as a self-description option in their decennial census, for people who do not consider themselves members of any specific religion, including non-affiliated theists and deists. In the 2010 census, 8.0% of the population ...