Skip to main content
Work with the NEU
Hundreds march for religious freedom in Brazil as discrimination against African-influenced religions rises
Faithful from various religions participate in the Defence of Religious Freedom march at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, September 15, 2024

HUNDREDS marched for religious freedom on Brazil’s iconic Copacabana beach to raise awareness of the rise in discrimination against African-influenced religions. 

Practitioners of more than a dozen faiths — mostly of Afro-Brazilian heritage — participated in the event to support religious freedom in Brazil, where cases of discrimination have doubled over the past six years.

Many of the participants in the “March for the Defence of Religious Freedom” have faced attacks from members of Christian groups, it is understood. 

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
 An Indigenous man performs a ritual during a protest calling for the protection of Indigenous land rights and demarcations outside the Supreme Court in Brasilia, Brazil, August 11, 2026
Latin America / 18 August 2026
18 August 2026

Powerful agribusiness interests are trying to overturn efforts by the Lula government to protect the environment and indigenous peoples of the Amazon region, writes GABRIELA SA PESSOA

Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro (right) accompanied by Argentina's President Javier Milei during the Liberal Party convention where Mr Bolsonaro was confirmed as the party's presidential candidate, in Sao Paulo, July 25, 2026
Latin America / 27 July 2026
27 July 2026
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva talks to journalists during a joint press conference with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, October 23, 2025
Tariff row / 17 July 2026
17 July 2026
Students march against the military dictatorship, 1966
Features / 9 May 2026
9 May 2026

Newly revealed documents reveal that MI5 taught Brazilian secret police the techniques deployed by the 1964-85 military dictatorship in horrific prisons like Rio de Janeiro’s House of Death. SARA VIVACQUA reports