In the latest episode of our God and Government series, supported by the Henry R. Luce Foundation, we travel to Brazil, the world’s largest Catholic country. Big changes are underfoot and the country is no longer Catholic majority. The 20th century saw an enormous rise in evangelical Christianity in Brazil, specifically Pentecostalism. Sociologist Andrew Johnson of Metro State University embedded himself in the prisons of Brazil to learn why the most marginalized people in the country are so drawn to the Pentecostal message. Then, we learn about the legacy of Catholicism and Protestantism in Brazil, and how the religious landscape has changed over time, from professor Andrew Chesnut of Virginia Commonwealth University.
Andrew Johnson, law enforcement and criminal justice professor at Metropolitan State University and author of If I Give My Soul: Faith Behind Bars in Rio de Janeiro, soon to be a documentary
Andrew Chesnut, professor of religious studies at Virginia Commonwealth University and author of Born Again in Brazil: The Pentecostal Boom and the Pathogens of Poverty
Inmates in a Brazilian prison hold a Pentecostal worship service.
(Photo by Phil Anema, courtesy of USC Center for Religion and Civic)
Religious studies professor Andrew Chesnut (right) holds the Brazilian flag.
(Photo courtesy of Andrew Chesnut)
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