ABSTRACT
How do religious groups and the Brazilian state shape each other? In the first part of this chapter, I review the evolution of Brazilian religious affiliation and religious organizations from colonial times through the present decade. Both state and transnational actors have influenced the religious marketplace. In the past two centuries, Brazil has transitioned from a state-imposed religious monopoly to market deregulation, and, in the recent democratic era, to a dramatic growth in religious competition. In the second part of the chapter, I examine the ways religious groups and beliefs affected democratization and continue to affect democratic politics in the post-1985 regime. At the level of civil society, both the Catholic Church and evangelical churches have been spurred by international religious movements and institutions, and by a growing awareness of the importance of democratic politics for their groups’ long-term interests, to adopt and promote activist political theologies. At the elite level, I trace the growth of the bancada evangélica and examine its behavior in office. Throughout the chapter, I reflect on the lessons from the Brazilian case for religious economy approaches to understanding religion and politics.
