A fé e o voto: Igreja e Estado diante da urna
A podcast episode examining the intersection of religion and voting in Brazil, presenting findings from a study of 15,000 Brazilians showing that while 82-90% of religious believers oppose political activity in churches, religious institutions and leaders still significantly influence voting behavior, particularly among evangelical pentecostals. The research reveals that evangelicals vote more cohesively than Catholics, with denominational affiliation and frequency of attendance mattering more than religious identity alone.
Summary
The episode, titled 'A fé e o voto: Igreja e Estado diante da urna' (Faith and Vote: Church and State at the Ballot Box), explores how religion influences Brazilian electoral behavior despite legal prohibitions against political campaigning in religious spaces. The Brazilian Electoral Justice System explicitly forbids using temples for electoral propaganda, yet research from ISER (Instituto de Estudos da Religião) and Quest shows this boundary is regularly crossed.
Ana Carolina Evangelista, a political scientist and senior researcher at ISER, discusses findings from a survey of 15,000 Brazilians. Key discoveries include that 82% of believers disagree with discussing politics in churches, 83% oppose being told who to vote for, and 90% reject candidates campaigning in religious spaces. Yet the research confirms religious influence on voting occurs indirectly through community moral frameworks, institutional affiliation, and leadership guidance.
The study reveals Brazil's significant religious transformation: Catholics once dominated but now represent a minority, while evangelicals have grown to over one-quarter of the population since the 2000s. Within evangelical denominations—particularly pentecostal churches like Assembleia de Deus, Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus, and Igreja Quadrangular—voting alignment is strongest, with 30% recommending Bolsonaro compared to an 11% national average.
Crucially, the research shows religion matters more for values and some electoral behaviors but is irrelevant for others. A surprising finding: 54% of evangelicals self-identify as conservative, yet 75% of these support Bolsa Família and 66% favor taxing the wealthy—progressive positions. This demonstrates that conservatism isn't monolithic and that raça (race) and education significantly intersect with religious identity in determining voting patterns.
The episode notes a recent shift in the 2026 elections: the Catholic Church (CNBB) has become more vocal and emphatic in promoting conscious voting, emphasizing voter autonomy, warning against corruption, and defending democracy and national sovereignty—language that aligns with PT messaging. This represents a notable departure from previous elections and reflects reaction against political radicalization linked to religious identity.
Venezuelan sociologist Lívia Reis explains that religious influence operates through WhatsApp groups, YouTube, and social networks, not just from pulpits. Leaders often don't directly recommend candidates but identify political 'enemies,' constructing narratives within frameworks of spiritual warfare that resonate particularly in pentecostalism.
The research confirms that while 78% of respondents report their religious leaders did not indicate a vote in 2022, among the 18% who said they did, Bolsonaro received three times more recommendations than Lula (11% vs. 5% nationally), rising to much higher percentages within evangelical communities.
About this episode
Convidada: Ana Carolina Evangelista, cientista política e pesquisadora sênior do Instituto de Estudos da Religião (Iser). A legislação eleitoral coloca uma fronteira clara entre Estado e Igreja. Templos religiosos não podem ser usados para propaganda eleitoral – e até manifestações de apoio a candidatos, ainda que não haja pedido de votos, podem ser punidas pelo Tribunal Superior Eleitoral. Mas, na prática, púlpito e palanque se encontram. Uma pesquisa realizada pelo Instituto de Estudos da Religião (Iser) e pela Quaest ouviu 15 mil brasileiros sobre como eles veem a relação entre política e religião. O estudo indica que a maioria dos fiéis, considerando todas as filiações religiosas, rejeita que suas lideranças digam em quem votar. No entanto, o levantamento mostra também que alguns agrupamentos religiosos tendem a convergir para determinadas preferências políticas. Neste episódio, Natuza Nery entrevista uma das organizadoras da pesquisa Religião e Vida Pública no Brasil, Ana Carolina Evangelista. A cientista política explica as principais descobertas da pesquisa e analisa as relações entre os comportamentos religioso e eleitoral de católicos e evangélicos.
Key Insights
- Religious institutions' impact on voting varies significantly by denomination and institutional affiliation—pentecostal evangelical churches show triple the national average rate of recommending Bolsonaro (30% vs. 11%), while Catholics show more divided voting patterns segmented by race and education.
- The research identified that while 90% of religious believers reject political campaigning in churches, this doesn't prevent religious influence because voting decisions are shaped indirectly through community moral frameworks and institutional practices rather than explicit candidate endorsements from pulpits.
- Self-identified conservative evangelicals demonstrate ideological inconsistency, with 75% supporting Bolsa Família and 66% favoring wealth taxation despite conservative self-identification, revealing that conservatism operates as a values-based identity separate from partisan policy positions.
- Religious leaders influence voting not primarily through direct candidate recommendations but through identifying political 'enemies' and constructing narratives of spiritual warfare, with this messaging then amplified through social media networks and WhatsApp groups beyond institutional church spaces.
- The 2026 election cycle shows the Catholic Church (CNBB) adopting more emphatic and coordinated messaging around democratic values, national sovereignty, and voter autonomy—a significant shift from previous elections that appears to be reactive counter-positioning against evangelical-Bolsonaro alignment.
Topics
Transcript
Num oferecimento de Eleven Labs. Agentes de inteligência artificial, atendendo seu cliente 24 horas. Acesse elevenlabs.io Fé é fé. Voto é voto. A legislação eleitoral coloca uma fronteira clara entre Estado e igreja. Templos religiosos são considerados bens de uso comum e não podem ser usados para propaganda eleitoral. O Tribunal Superior Eleitoral já decidiu até que manifestações de apoio a candidatos que ocorram dentro de igrejas, mesmo que não haja um pedido explícito de voto, podem configurar propaganda irregular. Só que na prática, o púlpito e o palanque ainda se encontram. Pastor, a gente está conversando numa época de um ano de eleição, numa época em que a eleição vai se aproximando, e eu tenho curiosidade de saber se…
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