By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Faithfuls from various religions on Sunday took part in a march for religious freedom on Brazil’s iconic Copacabana beach, aiming to raise awareness on the increasing discrimination against African-influenced religions.
Adherents of over a dozen religious faiths, mostly of Afro-Brazilian heritage participated in the Defence of Religious Freedom in support of religious freedom in Brazil, where cases of discrimination have doubled over the past six years.
Participants in the march have claimed to have faced attacks from members of Christian groups.
The Minister for Human Rights recently appointed in Brazil, Macae Evaristo also joined the march.
“It is very important for me to be present in this march because the people here are also struggling for many things like decent work and a life free from hunger,” Ms Evaristo told the Agencia Brasil news agency.
In Rio de Janeiro, which is home to a quarter of Afro-Brazilian religious followers, there has been an increase in evangelical Christianity and neopentecostal churches.
Experts say that while most neopentecostal proselytising is peaceful, the spread of the faith has been accompanied by a surge of intolerance for traditional African-influenced religions, ranging from verbal abuse and discrimination to destruction of temples and forced expulsion from neighbourhoods.
Vania Vieira, a practitioner of the Afro-Brazilian religion Candomble, said: “Everything that comes from black people, everything that comes from people of African origin is devalued; if we are not firm in our faith, we will lose strength.
“This walk is to show that we are standing, that we will survive.”
While the Brazilian constitution protects the free exercise of religion, cases of disrespect and attacks, especially against groups of African origin, have become increasingly frequent.
Between 2018 and 2023, there was a recorded increase of 140 per cent in the number of complaints of religious intolerance in the country.
