Brazilians are turning to evangelical Churches to save them from drugs and poverty.
In Central do Maranhão in northeast Brazil, drugs, and alcohol abuse are corroding the lives of many, especially young Brazilians. It is one of the poorest farming towns in Brazil, where the only other social pursuit that appears to be truly flourishing — apart from booze and narcotics — is religion.
Although it has a population of fewer than 9,000 people, Central do Maranhão has 18 places of worship, of different denominations, ranging from large churches to little more than cubbyholes.
Evangelical churches have been sprouting up across Central do Maranhão. By far the largest of these is the Assembly of God, which is Brazil’s biggest Pentecostal church overall, though fractured into different groups.
The growth of evangelism in the town mirrors a pattern across Latin America in recent decades. In Brazil, the number of people who identify as evangelical rose from about 1 in 15 in 1980 to just under 1 in 4 by 2010, according to national census data.
Church leaders say the numbers of young worshippers in their congregations have been gradually growing in the town. Estimates range from several hundred to about 1,000. Silva claims that up to 300 young people worship with the Assembly of God alone.
They say “Many people have family troubles. They end up looking to the church for some guidance,”