Members of several religions rally against intolerance in Rio

“Religious freedom. I have faith in it” was the motto of the 15th edition of the Walk in Defense of Religious Freedom (Caminhada em Defesa da Liberdade Religiosa), staged in Copacabana on Sunday (Sep 18). The rally gathered representatives of several religions with the common goal of fighting religious prejudice and advocating diversity and the right to profess different faiths, as established in the Brazilian Constitution.

“The march discusses democracy, freedom, diversity and the secular state. That’s what it’s been doing since the beginning,” said Professor Babalawô Ivanir dos Santos, organizer of the event. “[The goal is] to show society that diversity is crucial,” he added.

Activities started in the morning, with a breakfast at Copacabana’s Bene Herzl Israeli Club, and continued throughout the day along the shore. The event was joined by several musical groups. During the day, some 50 thousand people attended the walk, the organizers reported.

Data from the Religious Freedom Observatory (OLR) show that Rio de Janeiro state alone had at least 47 cases of religious intolerance in 2021. This year, from January to June, cases reached 38. These include attacks on temples and houses dedicated to the practice of African–Brazilian religions, physical aggression, and online threats.

In the view of Helena Theodoro, professor and researcher from the Religious Education and Comparative History Laboratory and Ancestral Knowledge Center from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), who attended the walk, the way to fight intolerance in Brazil must include education, love, and respect. "Dealing with differences means growing as human beings, understanding that people are diverse, territories are diverse, languages are diverse. All of them are needed. Not everyone needs to speak the same languages, eat the same food, or wear the same clothes. Diversity is the basis of human life," she declared.

The Walk in Defense of Religious Freedom originated in 2008 in response to episodes of religious intolerance that took place in the Morro do Dendê favela, on the Ilha do Governador district. At the time, followers of African–Brazilian faiths were expelled from the neighborhood by drug lord Fernandinho Guarabu, who controlled the local drug trade and would not allow them to wear their religious garments and beads.