Abstract
The history of afro-brazilian religions can be divided in three moments: 1) syncretization, during the formation of the traditional modalities, 2) whitening, in the formation of umbanda and 3) africanization, in the tranformation of the candomblé into universal religion, therefore if s opened to everybody, with no barriers of colour or racial origin. The process of africanization implies the denial of the syncretism, the adoption of a no-oral learning and the ritual and doctrinarian change. The following paper discusses these moments and the social and cultural conditions that each one was built in.
Keywords
candomblé; religion; syncretism; umbanda