Irreligion in Brazil
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Positivist temple in Brazil.
Brazilian republic Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area an ...
Irreligion in Brazil has increased in the last few decades. In the 2010 census, 8% of the population identified as "irreligious". Since 1970, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics has included ''sem religião'' ( Portuguese language, 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
deist Deism ( or ; derived from the Latin '' deus'', meaning "god") is the philosophical position and rationalistic theology that generally rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge, and asserts that empirical reason and observation ...
s. In the 2010 census, 8.0% of the population declared themselves "irreligious". The
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...
grants freedom of religion and thought to its citizens
Art. 5, VI
. In 2008, the Brazilian Association of Atheists and Agnostics was founded; it promotes secularism and supports irreligious victims of prejudice. Although the Federal Constitution guarantees religious tolerance to all its citizens (see article 5, item VI), it expressly prohibits all entities that make up the Federation to found and finance public cults and state churches controlled and coordinated by the Government – (see article 19, I), since until now the Brazilian State recognizes the "peculiar character" of the Catholic Church under the other religions in its legal system (see Article 16 of Decree 7107/2010), which is why the law recognizes the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, as the "patroness of Brazil" (see Article 1 of Law 6,802 / 1980); the Constitution is sworn "under the protection of God" (see Preamble of the Federal Constitution); Catholic holidays (such as the day of Our Lady of Aparecida and the day of our Lord's birth) are recognized as national holidays by law (see Law 10.607 / 2002, Law 6.802 / 1980); the Catholic religion has an exclusive status for itself (see Decree 7107/2010); cities and states bear the name of Catholic saints; Catholic statues are exposed in public offices; the expression "God be praised" is present in all
Real Real may refer to: Currencies * Brazilian real (R$) * Central American Republic real * Mexican real * Portuguese real * Spanish real * Spanish colonial real Music Albums * ''Real'' (L'Arc-en-Ciel album) (2000) * ''Real'' (Bright album) (2010) ...
notes; and religious teaching exclusively Catholic in public schools is permitted in the country (see ADI 4439). A 2009 survey showed that atheists were the most hated demographic group in Brazil, among several other minorities polled. According to the survey, 17% of the interviewees stated they felt either hatred or repulsion for atheists, while 25% felt antipathy and 29% were indifferent. In 2022 a
Datafolha Datafolha is Grupo Folha's polling institute, founded in 1983 as the research department of Empresa Folha da Manhã S. A., and later on became a separate company able to serve external clients, from 1990. In 1995, it became a separate business unit ...
survey found that non-religious people account for 25% of the Brazilian youth (aged between 16 to 24 year-old) nationwide. In the country's two largest cities of
São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
and
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
the non-religious represent 30% and 34% of the people of the same age respectively, outnumbering evangelical, catholic and other religions youth. According to professors Ricardo Mariano and Silvia Fernandes there's a growing trend in Brazil of religious disafilliation among young people because of social liberalization and their individualistic beliefs often seen as conflicting with often harsh moral
dogmas Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam o ...
, strict codes of conduct and the increasing politicization of religions by the churches, especially the evangelicals.


Notable non-religious Brazilians

* Alinne Moraes, actress *
Chico Anysio Chico Anysio (born Francisco Anysio de Oliveira Paula Filho, 12 April 1931 – 23 March 2012) was a Brazilian actor, comedian, writer and composer. Biography Anysio was born in Maranguape, Ceará. He moved with the family to Rio de Janeiro ...
, atheist comedian and actor *
Drauzio Varella Antônio Drauzio Varella (Brazilian Portuguese: ; born May 3, 1943 in São Paulo, Brazil) is a Brazilian doctor, educator, scientist and medical science popularizer in the press and TV, as well as best-selling author. In addition to medicine, ...
, atheist physician and TV personality *
Letícia Persiles Letícia Persiles (born 2 January 1983) is a Brazilian actress and singer who played the lead role in the telenovela ''Amor Eterno Amor''. Biography Born in Rio de Janeiro, Letícia Persiles has a son with her husband, the director Luiz Ferna ...
, actress *
Marcelo Gleiser Marcelo Gleiser (born March 19, 1959) is a Brazilian physicist and astronomer. He is currently Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Dartmouth College and was the 2019 recipient of the Templeton Prize. Early life and education Gleiser received ...
, skeptic physicist who suggests replacing mysticism with reason and scientific contemplation *
Nando Reis Nando Reis (, born José Fernando Gomes dos Reis; January 12, 1963) is a Brazilian musician and producer, best known as the former bassist and one of the lead singers of Brazilian rock band Titãs and for his successful solo career, with his ow ...
, atheist musician *
Nathalia Dill Nathalia Goyannes Dill Orrico (born 24 March 1986) is a Brazilian actress. She has played the lead role in three telenovelas, the lead antagonist role in another two and the lead role in 2012's film ''Artificial Paradises''. Career Nathalia ...
, actress *
Oscar Niemeyer Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho (15 December 1907 – 5 December 2012), known as Oscar Niemeyer (), was a Brazilian architect considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture. Niemeyer was ...
, atheist architect and designer *
Paula Burlamaqui Paula Burlamaqui is a Brazilian actress who has starred in many Rede Globo productions. Selected filmography *''Barriga de Aluguel'' (1990) *'' Pedra sobre Pedra'' (1992) *''O Mapa da Mina'' (1993) *''Explode Coração'' (1995) *'' O Circo das ...
, deist actress


See also

*
Religion in Brazil Christianity is the predominant religion in Brazil, with Catholicism being its largest denomination. In 1891, when the first Brazilian Republican Constitution was set forth, Brazil ceased to have an official religion and has remained secular ...


References

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