A few random thoughts, let's see if they fit together to make an interesting picture. The annual gay pride parade which took place yesterday is seen as a sign of Brazil's relatively forward-looking society in a part of the world that still creeks under ancient rules and taboos. Yet how do gay rights and the recently introduced civil partnerships square with a continued blanket ban on abortion ? And how, for that matter, does a good Catholic country deem it acceptable to provide relatively cheap birth-control via the pill or monthly injections ? Is it theologically kosher to prevent an egg from being fertilized during the act of sex but not kosher to destroy it once fertilized ? What about Casti Conublii ?
In reality, the world's most populous Catholic country is becoming less so every day. Gay paraders feel confident enough to make fun of cherished Catholic symbols even though they (the paraders) remain, like everyone else, afraid of doing the same to the growing Muslim presence here. Just the other day, popular magazine Veja carried an article full of worthy but dull "news" on the Muslim contribution to the Renaissance. It's the kind of politically-correct Islamophilia that appeared elsewhere in the fevered aftermath of 9/11. As usual, Brazil is way behind the curve.
Muslim immigration and expansion into Brazil has moved rapidly into the limelight. Just as disaffected former Christians in Europe and the US have often turned to the new religion du jour, so the same trend, albeit on a lesser scale so far, has occurred in Brazil. One often hears about new exhibitions on Islam being staged in Sao Paulo and you can't help wondering who exactly is funding it all? Former President Lula was well-known for his misguided attempts to forge closer ties with Iran. A couple of months ago there was some alarm over the apparently unchecked presence of Al Qaida in Brazil, although so far restricting its operations here to organising attacks abroad. I worry about Brazil's preparedness for any major terrorism within it's borders. It seems to be asleep in terms of protecting public infrastructure such as train stations, airports or shopping malls, which is ironic indeed considering how paranoid Brazilians are as private individuals.
Traditional religion in "God's country" is also being challenged by the rise of evangelical Christians, purveying a Protestant brand of worship. Whether they are African-origin Brazilians or the more newly arrived Korean-Brazilians, or just mainstream Brazilians who want something more "modern", this growing stream of Christianity attempts to empower individuals and imbue them with more zest and ambition for this life rather than the next.
Traditional Catholics may recoil at this "showy" young pretender but they should ask themselves what centuries of "tradition" have done to liberate Brazilians from an incredibly passive and conservative mindset. (Perhaps Tony Blair, the Catholic convert and self-proclaimed social progressive, should also give some thought to this apparent contradiction ?)
In the early days of my time in Bom Retiro, I witnessed the most bizarre spectacle every Sunday morning, and one day I finally managed to collar the individual involved. A Chinese-Brazilian would walk up and down the street singing liturgical Hebrew words and tunes and handing out pamphlets. He turned out to be some sort of Christian-Zionist and had nothing but contempt for the "idol-worshipping" Catholic church. Then one day he stopped coming. But it was a fascinating portal through which to view a country either becoming a melting pot or in some kind of religious meltdown.
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