The Guardian reported on a remarkable renewal of the Catholic faith in Brazil with huge numbers of people waking up in the early hours of the morning to tune into the sermons of Catholic Friar Gilson da Silva Pupo Azevedo, known as Frei Gilson, who has been averaging some 2 million daily views for each video. According to the article, the habit of rising early to watch prayer livestreams is growing rapidly, and Frei Gilson is only one of a number of religious leaders who have become night-time live-streamers.
Religious scholar, Rodrigo Toniol, Professor of Anthropology at the Rio’s Federal University says this trend suggests that Brazil may be a testing ground for new approaches within the Catholic Church: “The Catholic Church is trying to renew itself through digital missionaries, and I would say that Brazil is a major exporter of ideas to the Catholic world.”
This is not surprising as Brazil is home to the world’s largest Catholic population. Yet recent census data shows that while three decades ago Catholics made up some 83% of Brazilians, that number has fallen to below 57% of the population. Even so, that is a substantial segment of a population of 213 million people, with the second-largest faith group – evangelicals – accounting for less than 27%.
Read the full article here in the Guardian.