Paulinho won’t let intolerance of his Afro-Brazilian religion stop his faith • Business Mirror

  • 📰 BusinessMirror
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 80 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 35%
  • Publisher: 59%

United States News News

United States United States Latest News,United States United States Headlines

LAGOA SANTA, Brazil — When Brazilian soccer player Paulinho scored a goal at the Tokyo Olympics, he celebrated by pointing an imaginary arrow at the flashing cameras as homage to a deity in his persecuted Afro-Brazilian faith – and taking aim at religious intolerance. Shortly after, he lost more than 10,000 followers on social media

LAGOA SANTA, Brazil — When Brazilian soccer player Paulinho scored a goal at the Tokyo Olympics, he celebrated by pointing an imaginary arrow at the flashing cameras as homage to a deity in his persecuted Afro-Brazilian faith – and taking aim at religious intolerance.

Just a small minority in Brazil practices Candomblé. But in recent years there have been increased reports of incidents of religious intolerance against them, particularly at the hands of members of Pentecostal and neo-Pentecostal churches, which focus on spreading faith among nonbelievers. His mother, Ana Christina Sampaio, recalled feeling offended when parents of other players suggested that her son was thriving on the soccer field only because he was being helped by Afro-Brazilian sacrificial rituals.

“Candomblé has always been persecuted, the only place in Brazil where their followers are the majority is at Carnival,” said sociologist Reginaldo Prandi. He was making note of the popular traditional samba school competition where lyrics citing Candomblé deities, or orixas, have been a constant for decades.

Paulinho now plays for Brazil’s Atlético Mineiro, a club that during the 1980s had some of the first outspoken evangelical soccer players in the country. He still dreams of playing in England or Spain.“People realize that I have a greater understanding and knowledge about our religion,” he said. “Looking back… Candomblé has been present in every phase, showing us the way. And now, I can speak with greater confidence.

Paulinho has also been a target of far-right activists aligned with former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who has a strong base among evangelicals. Paulinho was one of the few active soccer players to publicly endorse President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the 2022 elections.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 19. in US

United States United States Latest News, United States United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

April’s boy JC Regino makes own mark in music businessJC Regino, the son of the late singer-songwriter April Boy Regino, opened up about what he misses most about his
Source: MlaStandard - 🏆 20. / 55 Read more »

Gilas shows it means business, thrashes Bahrain by 28 pointsHangzhou—CJ Perez and Ange Kouame justified their inclusion into the Gilas Pilipinas roster with their huge games as the Filipinos
Source: MlaStandard - 🏆 20. / 55 Read more »

Shell holds summit for partner auto workshops in pioneering business • Randy S. Peregrino(From left) Martin Kristopher Limgenco II, GCash Enterprise Sales Head; Ika Halili, Digital Manager for Shell Lubricants Philippines; Paz Famador-Tiongco, National Sales Manager for Indirect Channel of Shell Lubricants Philippines; Jackie Famorca, vice president of Shell Lubricants Philippines; Leo Mendoza, Marketing and Business Development Manager of Shell Lubricants Philippines; Dana Cuneta, CFE, AVP-Consultancy, Francorp Philippines;
Source: BusinessMirror - 🏆 19. / 59 Read more »

St. Benilde draws first blood against FEU, goes closer to V-League crown • Business MirrorCOLLEGE of Saint Benilde worked on its defense to stymie Far Eastern U’s attacks then flourished in transition plays to take a step closer to securing the V-League Women’s Collegiate Challenge crown with a 25-18, 25-18, 25-16 victory in the opener of their best-of-three series on Wednesday at the Paco Arena in Manila. The Lady
Source: BusinessMirror - 🏆 19. / 59 Read more »

10 minutes for a business permitTen minutes.
Source: PhilstarNews - 🏆 1. / 94 Read more »