Religion of Portugal: history, features, number of adherents

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Currently, there is no official religion in Portugal, although in the past it was the Catholic Church, which remains the predominant religion in the camp. According to the 2011 census, 81% of the population in the state are Catholics, but only about 19% attend mass and take communion regularly. The remaining 62% are present at church ceremonies in three cases: at baptisms, weddings and funerals.

Modern history

The official separation of church and state took place after 1910, during the First Portuguese Republic. However, in 1940, during the Estado Novo political regime, a concordat was signed between Portugal and the Vatican, according to which the Roman Catholic Church was assigned a special position and privileges in the country, but it remained separated from the state. This agreement abolished many of the anti-clerical positions adopted during the First Republic. The Catholic Church has regained its influence in many areas of life of citizens and significantly infringed on the right to practice their religion in Portugalrepresentatives of other faiths.

Although the formal separation of church and state was reaffirmed by a democratic constitution in 1976, the concordat remained until 2004. The text of the agreement was authenticated after the Carnation Revolution in 1975, with some modifications to allow civil divorce in Catholic marriages while retaining all other clauses. Catholicism is the religion that the people of Portugal profess today on the widest scale, especially for the female population and the older generation.

Features of local Catholicism

Traditionally, most of the religious life of the Portuguese took place outside the realm of the formal structure of the Roman Catholic Church. This is most relevant for rural areas, where their religious holidays and saints' days are popular. Along with these aspects approved by the official religion, folk beliefs have always flourished in Portugal, often intertwined with Catholic traditions. The trend is especially noticeable in the villages of northern Portugal, where belief in witchcraft, witches, evil spirits is still widespread. Back in the early 1990s, almost every village had its own seers, magicians, and healers. It was believed that evil spirits, even werewolves, live in mountains and waters, and you can be saved from them by prayer conspiracies, amulets and the like. The evil eye was considered the most widespread superstition.

This phenomenon was the result of the fact that, unlikeSpain, the Catholic religion of Portugal was softer, more humane and less intense. Now these beliefs have lost much of their influence, especially among city dwellers. However, fortunetellers, soothsayers, healers from the people, superstitious signs and signs are popular with the Portuguese today.

Other Christian Destinations

Currently, there are about 100,000 evangelists in Portugal, whose churches are distributed in almost all state districts and represent several directions. These are the historical denominations of the Presbyterian, Lutheran, Methodist, Congregational, Baptist, Lusitanian churches, and some others. The Evangelical Alliance ran a project called "Portugal 2015" to have an Evangelical church in every one of the country's 308 municipalities by 2015.

By 2010, there were up to 80 thousand followers of the Orthodox faith in Portugal, and today 17 parishes belong to the Russian Orthodox Church, represented mainly by the Korsun diocese.

Also in Portugal there are movements of marginal Christianity. Jehovah's Witnesses, numbering approximately 52,000, are distributed among approximately 650 congregations. The Mormon Church has close to 40,000 members divided into 77 congregations. And about 9,000 people with the Portuguese Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Other religions

It is difficult to determine which religion in Portugal can now be considered the most numerous afterChristianity. The latest data for the country correspond to the 2011 census and today differ significantly. At that time, there were more than 20,000 Muslims in Portugal, most of whom were Sunnis, about 5,000-7,000 Shiites and a small number of Ahmadis.

Buddhism was the only religion that supported gay marriage in Portugal. According to the latest data, there were about 60,000 Buddhists in the country, about 7,000 Hindus, 2,000 practicing the Baha'i faith.

Jews who settled in this territory from the first century AD experienced the greatest flourishing of their communities from the 11th to the 13th centuries, and by the beginning of the 14th century the number of Jews in the country exceeded 40 thousand. A 2010 study showed that there were about 460 practicing Jews left. The main reason for such a large-scale reduction is the assimilation of Jews into Portuguese society, which has increased since the second half of the 20th century.

Census results also showed that between 4 and 9% of the total population of Portugal identified themselves as atheists or agnostics.