Fé e política no Brasil - Pesquisa inédita do ISER revela um país em acelerada transformação #Boletim 16 2026

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

Hello!

How does religion, or the lack thereof, shape the lives of Brazilians?

This question It has spanned decades of reflection, research, and knowledge production at the Institute for Religious Studies (ISER). For 56 years, ISER has been guided by the understanding that religion is a fundamental factor in social change and an indispensable variable for understanding Brazilian society and politics.

Through years of study, reflection, encounters between different generations, and respect for the production of knowledge, ISER is launching the most comprehensive research on religions in the country to the world. In partnership with Quaest Pesquisa e Consultoria, ISER conceived and coordinated the research. Religion and Public Life in Brazil.

The research involved conducting in-person, home interviews with 15,000 people, aged 16 and over, in 412 municipalities across all regions of Brazil. Religion and Public Life in Brazil This study provides a detailed mapping of how faith and changes in religious affiliation intertwine with moral values and politics in contemporary Brazilian society. The groundbreaking research was designed to unveil everyday practices, the transmission of faith across generations, cultural consumption, and the level of influence of religion on the civic and electoral behavior of Brazilians.

What do the data reveal, after all?

The data shows a Brazil undergoing profound demographic and cultural transformation, in which the influence of religion is very much alive, with many gaps and contradictions. The research proves that religious affiliation does not act as a monolithic block over citizens' choices. New cross-referencing indicates that variables such as race, gender, education, income, and region often shape or even alter the behavior and worldview of people of faith more than religious affiliation itself.

What is the religious profile of Brazilians? Brazil remains predominantly Catholic: 501% of the population identifies with the religion, while Evangelicals total 291% and those without religion, 141%. But the breakdown modifies the interpretation of these groups. Catholics are divided between practicing (31%) and non-practicing (19%). Within the Evangelical group, Pentecostals make up 21% of the population, Protestants 5%, and evangelicals without a church 3%. Afro-Brazilian religions comprise 3% and Spiritists 2%.

Who frequents religious spaces? A total of 671,300 Evangelicals participate in religious services and other religious activities at least once a week. Weekly or greater attendance reaches 401,300 among Catholics and 391,300 among adherents of Afro-Brazilian religions. However, religion extends beyond places of worship. For 731,300 Brazilians, the Bible or its verses are a source of life lessons, a practice that reaches even people outside of Christian traditions.

Conservative in what way? 541,300 Brazilians identify as conservative, while 241,300 identify as progressive. But the data complicates the debate by revealing that 781,300 Brazilians support the protection of indigenous peoples; 751,300 Brazilians support the Bolsa Família program; 661,300 support taxing the wealthiest; and 651,300 support quotas for Black people in public universities.

Religion and Public Life This research organizes a collection of jumbled photographs about the religiosity of Brazilians. It identifies trajectories: where people came from based on their religious experience, where they went, religious transitions, and how this movement relates to race, income, gender, education, and political stance.

Over the next few months, ISER will continue to make research data available on its channels, helping to understand, or further complicate, the relationship between religion, politics, and daily life in Brazilian society.