NEWS FROM
BRAZIL
supplied by Brazil Justice Net
Number 632, June 8, 2010
Visit our home page at: http://www.braziljusticenet.org
In this week's News from Brazil:
Studies Show Persecution of Afro-Brazilian Religions
by Leandro Uchoas
In the beginning of May, the Report on the Human Right to Education
investigative team in Rio de Janeiro decided to examine one of the most
veiled and complex problems of people of African descent in
Brazil: religious intolerance of Candomblé,
Umbanda and other religions of African origin. This study is
part of a bigger research project entitled “Education and
Racism in Brazil,” which began at the beginning of this
year and is being conducted in various Brazilian
states. With the support of the Commission for the Combat of
Religious Intolerance (CCIR) of Rio de Janeiro, the team also plans to
investigate what is being done in regard to education about quilombos
(communities of descendents of runaway slaves).
According to the researchers, one of the biggest problems regarding
intolerance of Afro-Brazilian religions is that not many seem to even
care that it is a problem. However, the problem is worse
where there is strong prejudices against these religions, especially
where there are neo-Pentecostal churches (like Igreja Universal,
Internacional da Graça, among others) which preach against
them. In such regions, the Afro-Brazilian religions are
practically prohibited. The increase of members of these
neo-Pentecostal churches and their power over the media and government,
together with ambiguous educational policies, are the principal causes
of religious intolerance of these religions. Marcio Gualberto
of the Collective Black Entities of Rio de Janeiro commented on this
prejudice [that members of Afro-Brazilian religions are closet
devil-worshippers]: “Religions from African origins
have no way of hiding the devil, principally because this figure does
not even exist in these religions.”
In January, the Institute of Comparative Studies in Institutional
Administration of Conflicts (InEAC-UFF) released a report entitled
“Religious Intolerance in Rio de
Janeiro.” The document analyzes conflicts related
to differences in identity and ethnic-religious backgrounds in the
state vis-à-vis how these differences are handled by public
institutions. “Religious intolerance is completely
ignored by the State and even by social movements. There is a
false idea of racial democracy,” stated Fábio Reis
Mota, social scientist of the InEAC-UFF.
Between 2008-2009, CCIR accompanied 17 specific cases of religious
intolerance registered in police records. One fact that was
evident to the Commission was the difficulty that police have in seeing
the importance of registering such cases. Many times, the
police convince the victims to not register the case, as though is was
merely a small problem. “The police say this type
of problem is ‘not worth a can of beans,’ something
not important,” said Reis Mota. Data reveal that
the majority of the victims are older than 21, while those that commit
the crime are usually around 40, which reveals intolerance among
mid-lifers. The majority of the cases occur in religious
institutes or in the home of the victim.
Another criticism made by researchers involves the way the media treats
the issue. Afro-Brazilian religiosity is treated in a
stereotypical fashion, reinforcing prejudices already existent in
society. However, Joel Zito Araújo, director of
the documentary, “Negação do
Brasil,” does not agree 100% with the researchers:
“Television media does not have a homogenous treatment for
African religions. Some accept religious diversity, and we
can see a positive portrayal of characters. However, this
segment that tends to treat religions positively also treats religions
of African origin as the exception and not the rule. In
certain cases, we can watch preachers giving sermons or television
hosts making non-subtle remarks stereotyping members of African
religions, emphatically portraying them as devil-worshippers, feeding
prejudices, hate and ignorance.”
According to José Flávio Pessoa, professor of the
State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), stated that there has always
been persecution. The only thing that has changed is the way
it is done. Priests of “calundus,” a
religion practiced until the 19th century, were persecuted and
assassinated. “Until the 1950’s, the
Catholic Church encouraged persecution. During this time, the
police would enter the temples, destroy them, and take the
goods. Beginning in the 1970’s, the neo-Pentecostal
churches began to form and promoted a true ‘holy
war’ against African religiosity. And today they
have various ways of pressuring the State, such as prohibiting the
sacrifice of animals and noisy religious services,” said
Pessoa.
The Commission for the Combat of Religious Intolerance was formed in
March of 2008, after an incident at Ilha do Governador
[Governor’s Island] in which members of neo-Pentecostal
religions destroyed temples of Umbanda and Candumble
religions. Members of these African religions then united and
protested in front of the Legislative Assembly in Rio. They
then formed the CCIR, which has as its principal objective the combat
of religious prejudice. The two main works of the Commission
are the “March for the Defense of Religious
Freedom,” and the “Forum for Inter-religious
Dialogue.” One of the main demands of the group is
for the creation of a special police section to deal with crimes of
ethnic-racial-religious discrimination.
Gualberto reported that in Rio de Janeiro, in 2009, a woman wearing
African religious garb was spat upon by a group of neo-Pentecostal
church members. In the same year, a Umbanda house was
attacked by religious fanatics. To counteract such violence,
Gualberto’s group is planning for 2011 the National
Conference for Religious Freedom, to be held by the federal
government. “There are more cases of religious
intolerance than we imagine. The perpetrators are from
various segments of society, and the cases are not only acts of
omission--sometimes the State itself is an active
perpetrator,” said Gualberto.
Source: Brasil de Fato, May 27-June 6, 2010
The
reproduction of this
material is permitted as long as the source is cited. If you wish to
contact us, send a message to bjn@braziljusticenet.org.
