Brazilian Catholics migrating to other churches
The Catholic Church in Brazil might take some solace in Saint Paul’s message in this Sunday’s selection from Second Corinthians, where he says he is content with his weaknesses, hardships, and constraints because “when I am weak, then I am strong.” That is due to the fact that fewer than two thirds of Brazilians now identify as Catholics . . .
The Catholic Church in Brazil might take some solace from Saint Paul’s message in this Sunday’s selection from Second Corinthians, where he says he is content with his weaknesses, hardships, and constraints because “when I am weak, then I am strong.” That is due to the fact that fewer than two thirds of Brazilians now identify as Catholics, marking a record decline in the country with the largest Catholic population in the world.
Just over 64 percent of the Brazilian population of 191 million identifies itself as Catholic, according to figures from the 2010 census. In the year 2000, when the last census was carried out, Catholics comprised almost 74 percent of the population. The fall since 1970 has been stunning: In that year, almost 92 percent of Brazilians self-identified as Catholic.
Meanwhile, the number of Brazilian Christian evangelists has risen rapidly, up nearly a third in the last decade, from 15.4 to 22.2 percent. Demographer Joseph Eustace Diniz Alves, from the National School of Statistical Sciences, said that if the trend continues, the number of evangelicals will surpass that of Catholics in 20 or 30 years. If that happens, "The largest Catholic country in the world will cease to be Catholic," Alves said, adding that evangelical churches are taking over in the suburbs and the new middle class with a "theology of prosperity” which promises an improved economic life to those who join.
Father Thierry Linard of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil said the data reflect an "institutional failure" of the Catholic Church. In his view, the church has been unable to respond as quickly to the migration patterns in the country as have Pentecostal churches. "The Assembly of God has much more penetration in the periphery. Where a community arises, soon a little church comes," he said, adding that in the Catholic Church, the "structure is more onerous."
Just over 64 percent of the Brazilian population of 191 million identifies itself as Catholic, according to figures from the 2010 census. In the year 2000, when the last census was carried out, Catholics comprised almost 74 percent of the population. The fall since 1970 has been stunning: In that year, almost 92 percent of Brazilians self-identified as Catholic.
Meanwhile, the number of Brazilian Christian evangelists has risen rapidly, up nearly a third in the last decade, from 15.4 to 22.2 percent. Demographer Joseph Eustace Diniz Alves, from the National School of Statistical Sciences, said that if the trend continues, the number of evangelicals will surpass that of Catholics in 20 or 30 years. If that happens, "The largest Catholic country in the world will cease to be Catholic," Alves said, adding that evangelical churches are taking over in the suburbs and the new middle class with a "theology of prosperity” which promises an improved economic life to those who join.
Father Thierry Linard of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil said the data reflect an "institutional failure" of the Catholic Church. In his view, the church has been unable to respond as quickly to the migration patterns in the country as have Pentecostal churches. "The Assembly of God has much more penetration in the periphery. Where a community arises, soon a little church comes," he said, adding that in the Catholic Church, the "structure is more onerous."
Sources: Articles by Agence France Presse and Denise Menchen and Fabio Brisolla for Folia de S. Paulo