page_title: Religion in Portugal
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Religion in Portugal / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Organ and ceiling of the Cathedral of Braga, Portugal
context_page_description: The most predominant religion in Portugal is Christianity, mainly Catholicism. Portugal has no official religion, though in the past, the Catholic Church was the state religion. According to the 2011 Census, 81% of the population of Portugal is Catholic, though in 2001 only about 19% attended Mass and took the sacraments regularly, while a larger number wish to have their children baptized, be married in a church, and receive Last Rites. Portugal is still one of the most religious countries in Europe, most Portuguese believe with certainty in the Existence of God and religion plays a big importance in the life of most Portuguese. According to the Pew Research Center Portugal is the 9th most religious country out of 34 European countries, 40% of Portuguese Catholics pray daily, and 36% say religion is very important in their lives.
  Although Church and State were formally separated during the Portuguese First Republic, a separation reiterated in the constitution of 1976, Roman Catholic precepts continue to have a significant bearing in Portuguese society and culture.
context_section_description: As in most provinces of the Roman Empire, the religious beliefs and deities of the Pre-Roman populations mingled and coexisted with Roman mythology. In the Portuguese case, those Pre-Roman religions were basically Proto-Celtic or Celtic, chief amongst them that of the Lusitanians' (see Lusitanian mythology).
  Jewish populations have existed in the area, going back to the Roman era or even before that, and are directly related to Sephardi history.
  The Roman Provinces of Lusitania (comprising most of Portugal south of the Douro river) and of Gallaecia (north of the Douro river) were first Christianized while part of the Roman Empire. During this period, Bracara Augusta (the modern city of Braga) became one of the most important episcopal centres, alongside Santiago de Compostela. Christianity was solidified when the Suevi and the Visigoths—Germanic tribes already Christianized—came into the Iberian Peninsula in the fifth century.
  Early Visigoths followed the Arian heresy, but they joined Roman mainstream after the eighth century. The city of Braga played an important role in the religious history of the period, namely during the renunciation of the Arian and Priscillianist heresies. Two synods were held in Braga in the sixth century, marking the origin of its ecclesiastical significance. The Archbishops of Braga retains the title of Primate of Portugal, and long claimed supremacy over the whole of the churches of Hispania.
  Braga had an important role in the Christianization of the whole Iberian Peninsula. The first known bishop of Braga, Paternus, lived during the end of the fourth century, although Saint Ovidius (d. 135 AD) is sometimes considered one of the first bishops of this city. In the early fifth century, Paulus Orosius, a friend of Saint Augustine, born in Braga, wrote several theological and historical works of great importance. In the sixth century, another influential figure was Saint Martin of Braga, a bishop of Braga who converted the Suevi from Arianism to Catholicism. He also founded an important monastery near Braga, in Dumio (Dume), now an archaeological site. Several Ecumenical Councils were held in Braga during this period, a sign of the religious importance of the city.
  Christianity saw its importance diminish in southern Portugal during Moorish rule in the Al-Andalus period, beginning in 711 with the Umayyad conquest of Hispania, even if most of the population still followed Christianity according to the Mozarabic Rite. In the north, however, Christianity provided the cultural and religious cement that helped hold Portugal together as a distinctive entity, at least since the reconquest of Porto in 868 by Vímara Peres, the founder of the First County of Portugal. By the same token, Christianity was the rallying cry of those who rose up against the Moors and sought to drive them out. Hence, Christianity and the Catholic Church pre-dated the establishment of the Portuguese nation, a point that shaped relations between the two.
  Under Afonso Henriques (r. 1139–1185), the first king of Portugal and the founder of the Portuguese Kingdom, church and state were unified into a lasting and mutually beneficial partnership. To secure papal recognition of his country, Afonso declared Portugal a vassal state of the Pope, and was as such recognized in 1179 through the papal bull Manifestis Probatum. The King found the Church to be a useful ally as he drove the Moors towards the South. For its support of his policies, Afonso richly rewarded the Church by granting it vast lands and privileges in the conquered territories. The Church became the country's largest landowner, and its power came to be equal to that of the nobility, the military orders, and even, for a time, the Crown. But Afonso also asserted his supremacy over the Church, a supremacy that — with various ups and downs — was maintained.
  Although relations between the Portuguese State and the Catholic Church were generally amiable and stable, their relative power fluctuated. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the Church enjoyed both riches and power stemming fro
caption: 18th century organs and ceiling inside Braga Cathedral.
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