Research indicates that 44% of Brazilians have two religions. Official data from the Brazilian census indicate that 1,011,507 Brazilians have two religions or follow a syncretic religion. Because to miscegenation it is common for a person to have a father of one race and religion and a mother of another race and another religion, naturally that person can adopt the two beliefs or follow a religion that mixes the two beliefs. Many Afro-Brazilian religions are called

Macumba ''Macumba'' () is a generic term for various Afro-Brazilian religions, the practitioners of which are then called ''macumbeiros''. These terms are generally regarded as having negative connotations, comparable to an English term like "black magi ...

, but generally macumba is a vague word for any religion from Africa.

Tambor de Mina Tambor de Mina is an Afro-Brazilian religious tradition, practiced mainly in the Brazilian states of Maranhão, Piauí, Pará and the Amazon rainforest. Terminology ''Tambor'' means drum in Portuguese, and refers to the importance of the rhyt ...

is a highly syncretic religious tradition, combining cultural elements of

colonial Brazil Colonial Brazil (), sometimes referred to as Portuguese America, comprises the period from 1500, with the Discovery of Brazil, arrival of the Portuguese, until 1815, when Brazil was elevated to a United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves ...

and

Portuguese culture The culture of Portugal designates the cultural practices and traditions of the Portuguese people. It is rooted on the interactions between many different civilizations that inhabited the area during the past millennia. From Prehistoric Iberia, ...

with elements of the religious culture of the first Brazilian African slaves.

Candomblé Candomblé () is an African diaspora religions, African diasporic religion that developed in Brazil during the 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between several of the traditional religions of West and Central Africa, especi ...

is an

Afro-Brazilian Afro-Brazilians (; ), also known as Black Brazilians (), are Brazilians of total or predominantly Sub-Saharan African ancestry. Most multiracial Brazilians also have a range of degree of African ancestry. Brazilians whose African features are mo ...

religion that mixes African beliefs with Catholic art and visuals. Many criticize that candomble is considered a

syncretic religion Religious syncretism is the blending of religious belief systems into a new system, or the incorporation of other beliefs into an existing religious tradition. This can occur for many reasons, where religious traditions exist in proximity to each ...

, arguing that

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

needed to adopt

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

elements so as not to be reprimanded by slave owners.

Santo Daime Santo Daime () is a Universalism, universalistic/Syncretism, syncretic religion founded in the 1930s in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest, Amazonian States of Brazil, state of Acre State, Acre based on the teachings of Raimundo Irineu Serra, known ...

, is a religion founded by Raimundo Irineu Serra known as Mestre Irineu, Raimundo was a Catholic who served as a soldier in the

Brazilian Amazon Brazilian commonly refers to: * Brazil, a country * Brazilians, its people * Brazilian Portuguese, its dialect Brazilian may also refer to: * "The Brazilian", a 1986 instrumental music piece by Genesis * Brazilian Café, Baghdad, Iraq (1937) * Bra ...

, during that period he had contact with indigenous cults involving the sacred

ayahuasca AyahuascaPronounced as in the UK and in the US. Also occasionally known in English as ''ayaguasca'' (Spanish-derived), ''aioasca'' (Brazilian Portuguese-derived), or as ''yagé'', pronounced or . Etymologically, all forms but ''yagé'' descen ...

plant, used by the natives of the Brazilian Amazon. Santo Daime is a religion that mixes Marianism with native Brazilian beliefs. Daime is an abbreviation of the Portuguese phrase 'give me love' (Dai-me Amor). The Santo Daime religion has managed to reach other countries, it is possible to consider that it is a

world religion World religions is a Social construction, socially-constructed category used in the Religious studies, study of religion to demarcate religions that are deemed to have been especially large, internationally widespread, or influential in the deve ...

Umbanda Umbanda () is a religion that emerged in Brazil during the 1920s. Deriving largely from Kardecist spiritism, Spiritism, it also combines elements from African diasporic religions, Afro-Brazilian traditions like Candomblé as well as Roman Catho ...

is a

Kardecist Spiritism Kardecist spiritism, also known as Kardecism or Spiritism, is a reincarnationist and Spiritualism (movement), spiritualist doctrine established in France in the mid-19th century by writer and educator Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail (known by h ...

and Brazilian Shamanist religion, it emerged after a Kardecist

medium Medium may refer to: Aircraft *Medium bomber, a class of warplane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Medium'' (1921 film), a German silent film * ''The Medium'' (1951 film), a film vers ...

Zélio Fernandino de Moraes Zélio Fernandino de Moraes (10 April 1892– 3 October 1975) was a Brazilian medium who is considered the announcer of the Umbanda religion. Biography Zélio was born on 10 April 1892 in São Gonçalo. At the age of 17, Zélio joined the Brazi ...

came to accept the spirits of Natives and Blacks, Umbanda broke with traditional

spiritism Spiritism may refer to: Religion * Espiritismo, a Latin American and Caribbean belief that evolved and less evolved spirits can affect health, luck and other aspects of human life * Kardecist spiritism, a new religious movement established in ...

. Pentecostalism in Brazil has ritualistic characteristics of Afro-Brazilian religions, it is also very popular among black Brazilians, although

Pentecostals Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God through baptism with the Holy Spirit. The term ''Pentecostal'' is derived ...

deny that there is a syncretism between criticism and Afro-Brazilian religions. One of the most popular Pentecostal churches in Brazil, the IURD (Igrja Universal do Reino de Deus), has an open relationship of syncretism with

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

. Brazilian Jewish authorities reject this syncretism.

References

{{reflist