Managers of the Mangueira samba school complained just before the last Rio carnival that they were being decimated by a Baptist church that opened up next door and prohibits its members from joining in the Carnival-time licentiousness. Evangelicals have made especially strong gains in Brazil's slums, suggesting they've had more success in bringing their message to the poor than Liberation Theology, the doctrine that endorses the Catholic clergy's activism on behalf of the poor. Long called the world's biggest Catholic country, Brazil is becoming less and less Catholic. This year alone, the Catholic Church estimates 600,000 people will desert it. There are disposable diapers, disposable pens and now, disposable churches too.
Pragmatism largely explains the spread of evangelical movements, analysts say.
The emphasis of many of these movements on demonology, exorcism and miraculous cures offers relief to the masses of people living in misery and faced with a health system in collapse. In a country where half the population is illiterate and the health system doesn't function, it's a plausible response to their needs. At the service in Nova Iguacu, for instance, the pastor dwells on how the Devil is at work everywhere. As he speaks, a group of clean-cut aides, wearing ties and white shirts, patrol the aisles and occasionally scream at followers to help them rid themselves of the Devil. Then come calls for donations.