Brazil

Brazil covers more than half of the South American Continent. The immense “lungs” of the Amazon Basin – 4 million sq.m. of tropical rain forest – are of global relevance. With its coastline of 7,400 km, the eastern part of the country protrudes into the Atlantic like a huge belly. The country is rich in contrasts and superlatives in every respect. The population is multi-ethnic, including Amerindians and Africans, Europeans and Asians.

With Brazil, you associate rain forests and mega cities, the Sugar Loaf and the Statue of Christ the Redeemer, favelas and carnival, football and Rio. The capital of the country, whose language is Portuguese, is Brasilia.

Religious background

After the Portuguese took possession of the country, the Catholic Church extended its claim to power to the New World. Generally speaking, this remained so till independence was granted. With the African slaves, their African rites also reached the country, rites that appeared to be Catholic on the outside. These are the roots of the widely spread Brazilian spiritism. With the immigrants from Protestant countries, from Germany e.g., in the second half of the 19^th century, Protestant Churches formed, whose services, however, remained strange to the natives. Increasingly, however, mission movements appeared, which spread to many parts of the country particularly in the 20^th century. Today, the panoply of the evangelical, above all Pentecostal, churches is as colourful and varied as the country itself.  MASA’s partner is the Convenção Batista Pioneira, which has emerged from the former German Association in Brazil.

PDF download >>