Spatial distribution of the Brazilian religious transition

Abstract

A large transformation in the population religious profile in Brazil is under way. From one side there is an increase of religious plurality and, from another, a tendency to a shift in the Catholics hegemony over Evangelicals. The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of Brazilian religious transition between 1991 and 2010, focusing on the ratio of Evangelicals over Catholics (rec). Additionally to a spatial distribution descriptive analysis, at regional and municipal levels, municipal maps of this ratio in 2000 and 2010 are presented, also including a local spatial autocorrelation analysis. Results indicate how this process have been evolving spatially and indicates the future pathway of the religious transition between these two large Christian groups in Brazil.

Religious transition; Catholics; Evangelicals; Brazil