In 25 Years, So Paulo Gained 2,433 New Churches with Evangelical Expansion
Major evangelical denominations exist in the periphery; Catholic Church is largest sole proprietor
Sep.5.2019 12:43PM
Artur Rodrigues
SÃO PAULO
Founded by Jesuits in 1554, São Paulo has grown to be a city full of churches. In the last quarter of a century, however, temples have multiplied at unprecedented speed: about a hundred a year, from 3,346 in 1995 to 5,779, according to city hall data.
Behind the explosion—a jump of 73%, considering only the officially registered church spaces—is a change in the religious profile of the city and country. The ceremony of priests gave way to a charismatic line of pastors.
This transition left concrete marks on the Paulista landscape, with pharaonic buildings such as Solomon's Temple, the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, and makeshift places of worship in garages and halls on the outskirts.
The Solomon's Temple (Foto: Zanone Fraissat /FOLHAPRESS, COTIDIANO) - Folhapress
The trend, accentuated in the 1990s, remains consistent. This is a more significant variation than the city's growth in the period (60%), and multiple times that of cinemas, theaters and street clubs (7% to 571) and sports clubs (8% to 561).
More:
https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/saopaulo/2019/09/in-25-years-sao-paulo-gained-2433-new-churches-with-evangelical-expansion.shtml
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Religion defies recession in Brazil
Evangelical churches and the broader ‘faith market’ are booming
Samantha Pearson JUNE 24, 2015
At Solomon’s Temple in São Paulo, a vast $300m replica of the biblical temple built by Brazil’s Universal Church, the message is clear: salvation can — and should — be bought.
One Monday afternoon, during the evangelical church’s weekly “Success Congress”, a local businessman is summoned to the temple’s gold-plated altar to explain how his life suddenly changed after making his first contribution.
“I was living in my father’s basement,” he says, his image beamed out on giant plasma screens to the transfixed congregation of nearly 10,000 followers. “Now I own a beautiful house, a fast-food chain, an insurance brokerage and I bought the car of my dreams!”
He is joined by an aspiring actress who has just landed a role in a prime time soap opera and a hairdresser whose business is now doing so well that she is also opening a lingerie store.
“Honour our faith, Lord!” the bishop bellows out, as women with empty red velvet sacks and suited men with credit card machines line up next to him, ready to accept this week’s takings.
More:
https://www.ft.com/content/9047c83c-197d-11e5-a130-2e7db721f996
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