Brazil’s Universal Church Temple of Solomon Draws Crowds Amid Economic Strain

The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God holds its Friday evening services in the Temple of Solomon, a $275-million building in Sao Paulo that was constructed in 2014 and serves as the church’s headquarters. The service described in the report includes an exorcism, testimonials in Portuguese about miracle cures, and a congregation that lifts roses and speaks in tongues.

The church says it has nearly nine million members in more than 100 countries, including Canada. The temple covers a full city block. The report describes it as a house of worship that exemplifies Brazil’s “prosperity theology” movement, which teaches that material wealth is rewarded through faith. The source states that the church’s teaching holds that material rewards are bestowed on the most faithful.

Donations are a visible part of the service. Cash is welcome, debit cards are accepted, and junior pastors in black suits carry handheld credit card machines through the hall. Worshippers line up to enter their PINs and drop receipts into large sacks. Bishop Carlos Cucato asks the congregation, “Who in this place is tired of living a limited lifestyle?” and, as hands rise, tells them, “Faithful tithers, give your heart to Jesus.” The report notes that security staff wand attendees, that recording devices are banned inside, and that nearly all of the temple’s 9,549 red leather seats are filled.

The report links the temple’s popularity to wider religious and economic change in Brazil. It says Catholicism is losing ground to evangelical competition in the country. In 1970, 92 per cent of Brazilians identified as Roman Catholic. By the 2010 census, that figure had fallen to 65 per cent, with many turning to Pentecostal churches such as the Universal Church and Deus É Amor. The report also says that Brazil’s economic difficulties have led many people struggling with financial hardship to seek spiritual answers to their concerns about health and wealth.

The Universal Church is not the largest evangelical body in the country. The report identifies the Assembleias de Deus, based in Sao Paulo, as the largest denomination, with 22.5 million followers in Brazil. One of its members, Joao Baptista Costa Lopes, works as a Bible salesman on the Christian shopping strip at Conde de Sarzedas Street.

Source: Read the original report