Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World: Brazil and its Pulsating Plurality

Introduction

The purpose of this article is to offer a brief analysis of the advances and setbacks in the ecumenical and interreligious dialogue in Brazil since the Ecumenical Symposium ‘Christian witness in a plural world’. This Symposium was held on 21 to 24 August 2014, in the Centro Mariápolis, São Paulo. ¹ It was a joint activity of the National Council of Christian Churches of Brazil (CONIC), the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná and the Commissions of Ecumenism, Missionary Action and Laity of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB).

Around 100 people attended the Symposium representing the Roman Catholic Church, the Evangelical Church of Lutheran Confession in Brazil, the Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil, the United Presbyterian Church and the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch. There were also representatives of Pentecostal churches and of the Brazilian Evangelical Alliance.

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council and the 50th Anniversary of the Northeast Conference, ² the Symposium recalled the economic, social and religious context of Brazil in the 1960s in order to identify the major changes that have occurred over the last 50 years and how they affected the missionary activity of the churches and the Brazilian ecumenical movement. These analyses informed the study of the document ‘Christian witness in a multi-religious world’ and contributed to highlighting the main implications of this document for Christian witness in Brazil today and to draw attention to the limits of this document in relation to the Brazilian context.

In the more than four years since the Symposium took place, the Brazilian context and, consequently, the action of the churches has undergone profound changes, many of them unidentified during the Symposium. Observing these transformations is fundamental to answering the question of whether Brazilian Christians have consistently and firmly fulfilled the mandate of John 17:21-23.

This article will address three topics. The first is to present the content of the mentioned Symposium. During its first thematic block, two important events of the Brazilian ecumenical trajectory, i.e. the Conference of the Northeast and the Second Vatican Council, were studied. Secondly, the challenges for mission today were addressed; thirdly, spirituality and the Bible and finally, a common theology for mission was discussed. The second thematic block of the Symposium analysed the main Brazilian ecumenical documents and the possibility for common actions. Finally, the participants discussed in groups the document ‘Christian witness in a multi-religious world’ and drafted passages for a common statement for Brazil.

The second part of the article will highlight the main elements identified by the participants of the Symposium for a common witness, both in the debates held throughout the event and from analysing the ‘Christian witness’ document. In this part, it also will be evaluated whether progress has been made during these more than four years regarding the common Christian witness.

Finally, this article will identify strategies and challenges for Christian witness in maintaining the authenticity of the faith in Jesus Christ in the Brazilian context.

Recalling the Historical Journey of the Ecumenical Movement in Brazil: Conference of the Northeast and Vatican Council II

The main characteristic of the Brazilian religious context is pluralism. However, both Protestant and Roman Catholic churches for many years did not recognize the legitimacy of the religious diversity.

With the arrival of the Portuguese in Brazil, a history full of ambiguities, contradictions, paradoxes, violence and inequalities regarding religious traditions began. These characteristics are present when one analyses the missionary activities that took place in the country, like the forced conversion of the native peoples and of the Afro-Brazilians. The three main cornerstones ³ associated with the Portuguese colonial project were militarism, Christianity and mercantilism. The religious foundation played a very important role, since the colonial strategy understood that the newly ‘discovered’ land should all be offered to God. This offer would occur through the conversion of indigenous peoples seen as Gentiles. The Protestant missions did not break with this logic of mission as an instrument of forced conversion to faith in Jesus Christ. Their targets were Roman Catholics, indigenous peoples and Afro-Brazilians.

In the period of the Brazilian Empire, the Roman Catholic Church was the official church of the country. The Proclamation of the Republic established the separation of religion and state; however, only Christian organizations were recognized as legitimate. All other religious expressions present in Brazil were not recognized or were seen as charlatanism. Because of this, until recent times, the country was considered as the largest Christian country in the world, specifically as the largest Catholic country in the world.

Catholicism was considered as the religion of the Brazilians and so Protestantism met with great difficulties. The dispute between the two traditions characterized the religious scene for a long time. Representatives of historical Protestantism did not recognize Catholicism as an expression of Christianity, while on the other hand Roman Catholics considered Protestant churches as sects. There was virtually no dialogue between these two expressions of Christianity.

In his contribution at the symposium, Zwinglio Mota Dias noted that Brazilian Protestants, because of the fierce dispute between protagonists of the ‘Social Gospel’ and of the ‘Individual Gospel’, ⁴ in general rejected history and engagement for social and political change in favour of a dualistic, celestial discourse, which restricted itself to the sphere of the private and the individual. It opted for conversions and for a deeply pessimistic view of the possibilities of transforming the world. Fundamentalism persisted as a significant part of Brazilian Protestantism.

From the mid-1960s this characteristic of Protestantism began to change. An important factor for this was the support received from the World Council of Churches through the ‘Church and Society’ programme. The Northeast Conference was the result of this process. It formulated the challenge to the churches to recognize and discuss the vital issues of the Brazilian society at that time. Liberating the socio-anthropological dimensions of Christian witness from the individualist reductionism of fundamentalism was one of the provocative results of this conference.

The Northeast Conference dealt with the significance of social changes in contemporary history, with the changing socio-economic structures of Brazil, especially poverty and the extreme exploitation of the Northeast region. Cultural and socio-anthropological aspects of Brazilian society were also debated. At the basis of all analyses was the conviction that a cycle of social, economic and political crisis was under way, with new opportunities for the re-creation of the country. The Conference also presented a new biblical-theological reading of human reality capable of inducing and sustaining a new perspective of understanding the nature and mission of the church in the Brazilian reality.

One effect of this Conference was that some of the Protestant churches opened up to the Brazilian context. Theology more and more came to be understood as a critical reflection on Christian practice itself. This is in contradiction to a theological methodology that starts from revelation to determine, in idealistic and universal terms, the contents of the Christian practice. Concepts like the ‘Social Gospel’, ‘Religious Socialism’ and a ‘Confessing Church’ led to the formulation of the concept of ‘Responsible Society’. This contributed to the discernment of the existing social orders and, at the same time, served as a guide to help people in their decisions. In this perspective, the common vision that guides Christians in their missionary action is the attempt to answer the fundamental questions of their social realities from an ethical perspective.

The reflections that emerged in this process of redefining Protestant theology and practice contributed to the understanding that it was necessary for Christians to collectively strive for better living conditions for the vast majority of Latin Americans. This commitment was understood as a fundamental requirement of the Gospel.

At the Symposium, the Second Vatican Council was also revisited. It had three central objectives. The first was to review the Roman Catholic Church in its nature, identity and mission. The second sought to review the relationship of the Catholic Church to other churches, assuming ecumenism as an evangelizing activity. The third sought to review its position in the world entering into dialogue with society, science, technology, other religions and with non-believers. The motivations for dialogue were the challenges of justice and peace.

It was emphasized that the spirit of the Vatican II was characterized by an attitude of trust in the contemporary world through dialogue and compassion. It proposed an ecclesial magisterium of an eminently pastoral nature. Thus, the ecclesiology of the People of God, of communion and participation was affirmed and of a Church inserted in the world which seeks to read the ‘signs of the times’. It proclaimed in ‘Gaudium et Spes’ that:

the joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts. (GS 1)

The decree Unitatis redintegratio established the doctrinal bases and pastoral guidelines for ecumenism in the Roman Catholic Church. The decree encourages all initiatives to favour Christian unity, based on four elements: a) ecumenism as an attitude, as an dialogical attitude towards the different churches which eliminates words, judgments and actions that do not correspond to the understanding of the separated brothers and sisters; b) a theological dialogue to deepen the understanding of Christian doctrine in the various confessions, distinguishing the ‘content’ and the ‘forms’ of the truths of faith with the understanding that there is a ‘hierarchy of truths’, which expresses ‘the foundation of the Christian faith’; c) practical co-operation, which favours the co-responsibility of the churches in concrete pastoral initiatives; d) a spiritual ecumenism, considering prayer as ‘the soul of the entire ecumenical movement’.

This process of opening up the Protestant churches and the Roman Catholic Church, strengthened by theological reflections based on the Social Gospel, contributed to the fact that church members, active in the ecumenical movement, fought against the Brazilian military dictatorship. The ecumenical movement, united in the view that faith leads to unconditional commitment to the processes of structural transformation of society, was one of the movements committed to the process of democratization in Brazil, even though in many situations this led to the death of lay and ordained leaders or to them being exiled.

The Brazilian ecumenical movement is hence the result of processes of opening up the churches. It was through the ecumenical movement that the churches had an active and prophetic participation during the period of the civil-military dictatorship, effectively collaborating to denounce practices of torture and protecting persecuted persons. Brazilian ecumenism showed a political face in the struggle for rights and freedom.

In the context of the topic of this article, it is, however, important to draw attention to the fact that, in its origin, the Brazilian ecumenical movement, even though it was guided by the claim for non-violence and has denounced state crimes, did not consider the Brazilian religious plurality. The few interreligious initiatives happened with Jews during the interreligious celebration taking place at the Sé Cathedral (São Paulo) and in connection with the murder of the journalist Wladimir Herzog.

Main Aspects for a Common Christian Witness in a Plural Context

Brazil is a country where religiosity blossoms. It is not only that new churches spring up, but also there are many other religious movements that are authentically Brazilian, such as the Santo Daime, which emerged in the Amazon region, and Umbanda, which is a synthesis of Catholicism, Spiritism and of indigenous and African traditions.

However, just as there are new religions emerging, we find in Brazil religions that only exist here and whose sanctuaries were destroyed with their people. They are sacred expressions of which today we neither know the name nor the rites, and Christianity contributed to the death of these sacred expressions through its colonial and proselytizing attitudes.

Rethinking Christian witness in this context requires us to return to the foundations of the Christian faith, to remember that the content of the Good News is the love of God. Jesus is the missionary of God. The purpose of Christian witness is that all may have life and have it in abundance (John 10:10). The way chosen to attain this goal is to humanize, to serve and to welcome excluded people (Mt 25:35-45). The necessary attitude is to be attentive to the signs of the times and the concrete problems of the people. The central concern is to reveal the presence of the Kingdom in life and to encourage conversion and faith. It is about having the courage to denounce everything that dehumanizes life. The heart of missionary action is not to condemn, but to love as Jesus has loved us.

Jesus’ practice was not one of proselytism as he radiated a new sense of life and law, and whenever the law assaulted life it had to be problematized. What he is and says responds to the deeper desire that the human being has of justice and truth: ‘Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice’ (John 18:37).

It is necessary to remember that Jesus did not bring new rules that exclude; instead he opened up the norms of the law that were closed. Six times he says, ‘You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times … but I say …!’ (Math 5:21.27.31.33.38.43). Jesus does not bring a new doctrine, for he reviews the doctrine and the tradition of the ancients and corrects their limitations with a new look (cf. Mc 7:1-23). Jesus, aided by the Canaanite woman, discovers that he came not only for the lost sheep of Israel, but for all other races and religions (Mt 15:21-28). Jesus becomes the brother of all. In front of the Samaritan woman, he declares himself a Jew (John 4:22). For the evangelist John, Jesus is not the Jew who invites the ‘pagans’ for he stands at the side of the ‘pagans’ and invites the Jews to experience the same (John 8:31).

Regaining these foundations of faith for Christian witnessing is one of the most challenging tasks for the current ecumenical movement.

From the Symposium in 2014 to the present, we have experienced rapid changes in our society. When the Symposium was held, the possibility of a democratic rupture was not on our immediate horizon. Nor did we see the deepening of fundamentalist movements and expressions of hate.

Since then, many social conflicts have escalated and some of these conflicts are marked by Christian fundamentalism. To illustrate this, I list three recent religious conflicts in the Brazilian public space.

Conflict 1: Rio de Janeiro, September 2017. On the internet, in the newspapers and on television, news appeared about a series of attacks on Terreiros de Candomblé and Umbanda (Afro-Brazilian worship and cultural centres). Those who attacked came to the Terreiros armed with batons on which ‘dialogue’ was written. They forced the Mothers and Fathers of these worship places to destroy their own symbols and sacred spaces. The aggressors filmed the destruction and said: ‘look there: the head devil – he breaks everything … he turns off the candle. Jesus’s blood has power. All evil has to be undone in the name of Jesus. The Mother is the chief demon’. In some cases, leaders were threatened with death.

Later, these attacks revealed in some cases a phenomenon that has occurred in Brazil at least since the 1990s, but which intensified in the 2000s, i.e. a rapprochement between drug traffickers and evangelicals. In his book Prayer of the Trafficker, ⁵ the author Cunha points out that this rapprochement between evangelicals and traffickers takes on multiple forms among which the following stand out: traffickers attend evangelical services; they participate in church campaigns, and give financial contributions to the churches; they make direct donations to church leaders and tithe; they ask for protection and deliverance from evil; they promote evangelical events in the favela by funding them; they promote thanksgiving services; they finance walls posters and billboards with biblical messages.

Conflict 2: Gay Parade in São Paulo, June 2018. Transexual Viviany Belobony, who is an actress, performs a staging of the crucifixion of Christ to denounce the murder of transvestites and transsexuals in Brazil. In 2017, 179 transsexuals and transvestites were murdered. The performance of the actress generated a national controversy. She was attacked on social networks and physically assaulted on the street. The Association of Evangelical Churches of São Paulo denounced Viviany to the Public Prosecution Service for insulting, impeding and disturbing the religious cult. It is noteworthy that Viviany is of a Christian family and when she planned her presentation she had in mind the cross as a symbol of violence. An Anglican Episcopal Church invited Viviany to a seminar on sexual diversity in the church. Viviany went and thanked them for the solidarity received. She explained the whole process of creating the presentation. It was one of the few religious spaces where she could speak without fear.

In all the debates that took place because of Viviany’s performance, the outrage expressed focused on her use of the cross. There were very few words on the violence against transsexuals and transvestites against which she protested. Here, it is important to note that already by the year 2015, many debates and movements had been organized against a just gender perspective. Such movements are carried out by conservative Christian groups of different churches. One of the consequences of their agitation is precisely the strengthening of prejudices against gays, transvestites and transsexuals.

Conflict 3: in 2018, 26 days before the general Brazilian elections. The political scene is uncertain and extremely tense. Again, God is made to be an important actor on the political stage where all political currents quote His name. The same tensions and polarizations that can be observed in society tear the churches apart, where Christian brothers and sisters are fighting with each other.

Eventually, the newly elected president of the Republic, Jair Messias Bolsonaro, presents his presidential mandate as a mission of God, which must be fulfilled. His campaign motto, ‘Brazil above all, God above everything’, captivated the minds and hearts of Christians throughout the churches, not just neo-Pentecostal churches. This entire discourse is guided by the denial of religious plurality, by the denial of human rights and by the promotion of a culture of violence and extermination.

Following the Debate: Strategy and Challenges for Christian Witness

If the Symposium ‘Christian witness in a plural world’ were held today, its challenges for the ecumenical movement would differ from those we had identified in 2014. At that time, we emphasized the need for the churches to strengthen the ecumenical formation of the people who aspired to the ministry, the churches were challenged to open themselves to the missionary activity of women and youth, and the need to value ecumenical experiences at the grassroots level and outside the institutions of the churches was emphasized.

Today, the challenges would be different. I dare to list some of them.

The first challenge for Christian witness in Brazil is to overcome the atmosphere of exclusivism by recognizing the existence and legitimacy of Brazilian religious plurality. There is a significant resistance of some Christians to accept the different traditions of faith that are present in the Brazilian context. To understand them not as a threat, but as expressions of God’s love would be a concrete witness of love for the other.

The second challenge is to state clearly that the Gospel and violence are incompatible. There is no way to profess faith in Jesus Christ and at the same time destroy what is sacred to the other. In the same way, it is not possible to deny, in the name of God and of the faith in Jesus Christ, the right of the existence of the other because of his or her religious tradition or sexual orientation.

The third challenge is to strengthen alliances of solidarity and for the protection of the sacred that is in danger of extinction. Each religious tradition brings wisdom, the loss of which, if not cared for and preserved, impoverishes humanity itself.

The fourth challenge is to rethink what the church is. This is not about the institutions. They are important, but not as an end in themselves. The greater purpose of the church is always the witness of faith in Jesus Christ and the proclamation of the Kingdom. There is no reason in having the institution if we do not witness Jesus and we do not proclaim the Kingdom of justice and compassion (Mt 25:34-26, Lk 1:46-56, Lk 6:36-46). In this sense, it needs to be a permanent exercise not to lose the perspective of the original project of Jesus.

The fifth challenge is to promote theological freedom to actualize Christian witness. Faith in Jesus Christ is dynamic and the message needs to be up to date. Therefore, it is necessary that the theological practice is not subdued by doctrines, dogmas and institutional powers.

Finally, there is the permanent challenge of equality in diversity and of the transgressing of borders. The 21st century presents the paradox of the end of all frontiers and, at the same time, the desire to build new walls to keep out those who flee from war and from lack of opportunities.

I conclude with a quotation from the late theologian Rubem Alves:

Where is the Church? Do we find it as a remnant, oppressed, within the ecclesiastical structures, still relying on the possibilities of the Reformation, or as a scattered people, scattered sheep, looking forward to new community structures which are expressions and instruments of love and freedom.