In July 2015, Protestant pastor and theologian Ricardo Gondim raised the alarm about the growing power of evangelicals in Brazil. In a blog post titled God save us from an evangelical Brazil, the president of the progressive Bethesda Church warned that if they succeed in securing the support of a large enough segment of the Brazilian population, leaders of the evangelical movement would swiftly transform the secular and democratic country into a totalitarian theocracy.

“Evangelical” is an umbrella term that encompasses numerous Protestant denominations that share several core tenets. These include the perception of the Bible as the ultimate moral and historical authority, the desire to evangelise and spread the faith and the need for a religious conversion known as being “born again”. Among Christian groups, those who define themselves as evangelical tend to be much more conservative and against progressive values than those who do not define themselves with that label.

Full article at Al Jazeera’s website. Date of publication: 22/09/2021.