Christianity is the largest religion in Brazil, with Catholics having the most adherents. In the 2010 census, 64.63% of the population declared themselves Catholic, 22.2% as Protestant, 8% as nonreligious, 2% as other Christians, and 3.2% as followers of other religions including Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism.

Catholics in Brazil

Brazil has the largest number of Catholic Christians in the world. The largest proportion of Catholics is concentrated in the Northeast (59%) and South (53%) regions. The smallest proportion of Catholics is found in the Center-West region (49%). The State of Piauí has the largest proportion of Catholics (85%) and the State of Rio de Janeiro has the smallest one (45.19%). Among the state capitals, Teresina has the largest proportion of Catholics in the country (86.010%), followed by Aracaju, Fortaleza, Florianópolis, and João Pessoa.

Protestantism in Brazil

Protestantism in Brazil largely originated with American missionaries in the second half of the 19th century. Evangelical Protestantism and Pentecostalism have grown very rapidly in Brazil since the late 20th century. The 2010 Census reported that 22.2% of the Brazilian population is Protestant, about 44 million. As of the year 2000, the largest proportion of Protestants was found in the North (19.8%), Central-West (18.9%), and Southeast (17.5%) regions.

Among the state capitals, Rio de Janeiro has the largest proportion of non-Pentecostal Protestants in the country (10.07%), followed by Vitória, Porto Velho, Cuiabá, and Manaus. But Goiânia is the state capital with the largest proportion of Pentecostal Protestants in the country (20.41%), followed by Boa Vista, Porto Velho, Belém, and Belo Horizonte.

Other Christians Churches are Eastern Orthodoxy, Jehova’s Witness, Later Day Saints, etc.

Non-Christians Religion

There are small populations of people professing Buddhism (215,000), Judaism (107,000), Islam (35,000), Shinto, Rastafarian, and many other religions. They comprise 21st-century immigrants from East Asia, the Middle East, or of recent immigrant descent.