Religion in Brazil
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Brazil's main religion since the 16th century has been Christianity, predominantly Roman Catholicism. This religion was introduced by the missionaries who accompanied the Portuguese explorers and settlers of Brazil. Brazil has the largest number of baptized Roman Catholics on Earth — about 80% of Brazilians claiming to be Catholics. However, about 20% of the population of Brazil actually attends Mass on a regular basis.
Popular traditions of Roman Catholicism in Brazil include pilgrimages to the Appeared Lady, Senhora Aparecida, the patron saint of Brazil. Other prominent festivals include Círio in Belém and the Festa do Divino in central Brazil.
Brazil also has many other offshoots of Christianity. These include neo-Pentecostalists, old Pentecostalists and Evangelicals, predominantly from Minas Gerais to the South. In the same region, mainly Minas Gerais and São Paulo, large sections of the middle class, about 1-2% of the total population, is Kardecist, sometimes pure, sometimes in syncretism with Roman Catholicism. Protestantism is generally the only religion in Brazil relatively free of syncretism. Centers of neo-Pentecostalism are Londrina in Paraná state, as well as the state capitals of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte, capital of Minas Gerais.
African religions such as Candomblé have million of followers, mainly Afro-Brazilians. They are concentrated mainly in large urban centers in the Northeast, such as Salvador de Bahia, Recife, or Rio de Janeiro in the Southeast. The capitals of São Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul have fewer practitioners, mainly immigrants from the Northeast. In addition to Candomblé which is the survival of West African religion, there is also Umbanda which blends in Kardecian beliefs with African beliefs. Candomblé, Batuque, Xango and Tambor de Mina were originally brought by black slaves shipped from Africa to Brazil. These black slaves would summon their gods, called Orixas, Voduns or Inkices with chants and dances they had brought from Africa. These religions have been persecuted, largely because they are believed to have both good and evil powers. However, the Brazilian government has legalized them. In current practice, Umbanda followers leave offerings of food, candles and flowers in public places for the spirits. The Candomblé terreiros are more hidden from general view, except in famous festivals such as Iyemanja Festival and the Waters of Oxala in the Northeast.
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Brazil is well known for the rhythmic liveliness of its music as in its Samba dance music. This is largely because Brazilian slave owners allowed their slaves to continue their heritage of playing drums (unlike U.S. slave owners who feared use of the drum for communications).
Buddhism, Shinto, Judaism, Islam and a few other religions are observed by approximately 5% of the total population of Brazil. Most of the people who practice these minority religions are 20th century immigrants from East Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, or of recent immigrant descent. Fifteen percent of the population consider themselves agnostics or atheists, while the remainder call themselves Christians. One of the most unique features of the rich Brazilian spiritual landscape are the sects which use an amazonian sacramental tea including Santo Daime, Uniao do Vegetal, and Cultura Cosmica.
Brazil might appear to be a devout country, but things are a little bit more complex. In the latest IBGE poll, results showed that about 10% of Brazilians declared themselves to be non-religious (with just 1% declaring themselves atheists) and some 70% of Catholics stated that they were non-practicing.