Reportage

In Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro keeps the favor of the powerful evangelical vote

Audio 01:39

Worship at the evangelical temple Cidade de Refúgio de São Paulo, with Rev. Lanna Holder on the podium.

This temple welcomes LGBT people rejected by traditional evangelical churches.

© Achim Lippold / RFI

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

In Brazil, the evangelical vote has become a major factor in the presidential election.

Jair Bolsonaro, whose wife is an evangelical, owes his victory in 2018, among other things, to massive votes from this ever-growing religious community.

And this year again, he obtains, according to the polls, the majority of the votes of evangelicals, even if their support has dropped a little and that the Evangelical Church, far from being a bloc, is made up of multiple currents, ranging from ultra -conservatives to progressives.

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With our special correspondent in Manaus,

Achim Lippold

We are in an indigenous neighborhood in the north of Manaus.

Pastor Renato prepares for Sunday evening worship, as his daughter revises the songs for the ceremony.

The congregation has 26 members, all indigenous to the Amazon.

Our mission is to spread the word of the Lord.

If the person wants to keep his old beliefs, he is not yet born again for Christ.

In this Pentecostal temple, there is therefore no place for other spiritualities.

Pastor Renato defends traditional values, as well as President Jair Bolsonaro.

Jair Bolsonaro's intention was the right one.

He couldn't do everything he wanted to do, but I think if he can win and build a good team, he will lead Brazil to a better future.

Pastor Renato, head of an evangelical temple in the indigenous community "Parque das Tribos", near Manaus.

© Achim Lippold / RFI

Change of place... and ideology.

In São Paulo, the Cidade de Refúgio temple, “city of refuge”, is on the rise.

Founded by a couple of lesbian pastors, this place of worship welcomes LGBT people like Muka, who says:

From an early age, I was evangelical and homosexual.

But my old church didn't accept my sexuality.

I moved to São Paulo on purpose to be able to attend this church.

I didn't want to go to a cult where I was condemned for my sexual orientation.

LGBT cults are still very much in the minority in Brazil, but are constantly growing, especially in large urban centers.

►Also listen: World Religions - In Brazil, the weight of evangelicals

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  • Brazil

  • christianity

  • Jair Bolsonaro