Candomble and Umbanda Declared Not Religions by Brazilian Judge!

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Caminhada dos Terreiros de Pernambuco by Nathalia Verony. Edited for this article. Licensed under CC 2.0

May 18, 2014 By Lilith Dorsey

According to a decision by a Brazilian judge on April 28, 2014 Candomble and Umbanda are not to be legally considered religions in Brazil anymore. We have entered the 21st century but prejudice and oppression are as alive as they ever were.

Candomble and Umbanda are Afro-Brazilian religions that have been practiced for centuries. In my book Voodoo and Afro-Caribbean Paganism I mention that one of the earliest records of related practices date to 1618 when “an informant named Sebastian Beretto reported to the Jesuit priests an African-derived funeral practice of slaughtering animals and using the blood as a sacrifice to ensure passage to heaven.” The religions can be said to have similarities with other Afro-Diasporan religions like Santeria (Lucumi,) there is honoring of the Orixa, sacred drumming, dances, calls and prayers.

This entire legal mess started when a local group tried to have some Youtube videos removed which they considered offensive to their spiritual practices. The videos in question show the power of Christianity over the Afro-Brazilian religion, you can see one here:

The end result was the declaration by Judge Rosa Eugenio de Araujo , reported by O Globo news, “African-Brazilian practices do not constitute religion….they do not contain the necessary traits of a religion namely a basic text ( Koran, Bible, etc.), lack of a hierarchical structure and the absence of a God to be worshiped.” Why does this judge get to decide what is “necessary” for a religion?

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/voodoouniverse/2014/05/candomble-and-umbanda-declared-not-religions-by-brazilian-judge/

http://oglobo.globo.com/sociedade/mpf-recorre-de-decisao-da-justica-que-nao-reconhece-umbanda-candomble-como-religioes-12507234