Religions in Brazil

There are many interesting facts about Brazil's religions and many will likely be discussed in later articles.  Here are a few of the ones we found to be most interesting.

Catholicism 

Brazil has the world's largest Catholic population - by a lot.  At 127 million, Brazil has over 30 million more Catholic worshipers than Mexico; which has the world's 2nd largest Catholic population.

Solomon's Temple

Want to see a replica of the Jewish Temple? Brazil has you covered. At 18 stories tall, the structure is almost twice the height of Brazil's famous Christ the Redeemer statue.*  However, this building does not serve as a Jewish Synagogue; but instead is run by the Universal Church.  (Part of Brazil's rising evangelical movement)


Rock of Israel
Brazil does have many synagogues, though.  In fact, the first synagogue built in the Americas was erected in Recife, Brazil.  Kahal Zur Israel (Rock of Israel) was built and maintained by Dutch Jewish settlers until the Portuguese Catholics expelled them in the mid-17th century.

LDS Temple
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also built a significant temple in Brazil.  Opening in 1978, the São Paulo Temple was the first LDS temple to be erected in all of Latin America.

Umbanda
One religion unique to Brazil, Umbanda, is a mix of Catholicism and Spiritism.  Due to persecution, many followers keep their membership secret.

Thanks for reading!

Check out one of our earlier Brazil pieces: our article on Brasilia, which includes info on the Metropolitan Cathedral.

*If you don't count the statue's 25-foot-tall base.  Even with the base counted, the Temple is significantly taller.

Photo Credit: By Chensiyuan (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons