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As the Summer Olympics get under way this week, over ten thousand athletes and countless spectators will gather in Rio de Janeiro under the outstretched arms of the vast statue of Christ the Redeemer which towers over the city.

Brazil, the fifth largest country by both area and population, had, until recently, one of the fastest growing major economies in the world.聽聽 But now the economy is struggling, and the political system with it.聽聽 Longstanding problems of poverty and inequality are compounded by growing inflation and shrinking government investment in health, education and other services.聽聽 Public dissatisfaction is widespread, the President is facing impeachment, and accusations of corruption abound.聽 And no Olympic Games seems to happen these days without some forms of controversy arising.

Against this backdrop, Sarah Rowland Jones looks at religious belief and practice in Brazil.
Roman Catholicism, once the majority tradition, is losing ground to the Neo Pentecostal churches and to those of no religion at all.聽 So what factors are changing the religious landscape of this once highly religious country and why?聽聽聽 What help is there for the millions trapped in poverty and living in shanty towns?聽 And what role can the churches play in Brazil鈥檚 struggling political and economic life?

Joining Sarah Rowland Jones are Cecilia Iorio of CAFOD; writer Francis McDonagh; former Baptist missionary Sheila Brown; and Prof. Bettina Schmidt.