Politicians appear praying for Christian votes
A phenomenon that had already gained strength in the 2022 general elections is intensifying in this year’s municipal campaigns: candidates with no history of direct connection with the Christian people are trying to rebuild their image of relationship with faith in the middle of the electoral race, getting especially close of evangelical churches.
In many races for mayors, politicians appear praying in services, talking to pastors and evangelical or Catholic leaders and trying to force a narrative of proximity to the Christian faith.
The evangelical electorate, the fastest growing in Brazil, is more aligned with right-wing agendas, which has caused headaches for marketers of left and center candidates. It is no coincidence that politicians historically averse to conservatism have been more cautious when approaching customs issues.
Guilherme Boulos, PSOL candidate for Mayor of São Paulo, is the greatest example of this phenomenon. Associated with the extreme left and sympathetic to the agenda wokehe recently participated in an event with leftist members of some evangelical denominations such as the Universal Church, the Assembly of God and the Avivamento Church.
At the meeting, the candidate used arguments to force a bridge between his agenda and Christian voters, and criticized political opponents historically more aligned with evangelicals, calling them “false prophets”. “The Christian values that are in the Bible are not hateful, they are not lies. They are solidarity”, he said.
Among his main competitors in the campaign for Mayor, Pablo Marçal (PRTB) has been attending the Videira Church, an evangelical denomination founded in Goiânia, for years, and Ricardo Nunes (MDB) has the support of pastor Silas Malafaia, leader of the Assembly of God Vitória em Cristo , and other evangelical leaders.
Nunes, in fact, has made efforts to give more legitimacy to the support received and in recent days has intensified her visits to evangelical churches. Last weekend, he participated in a meeting with leaders of the Adventist Church, a service at the People’s Baptist Church, and an event at the Assembly of God Workers’ Bible School. The current mayor has already stated that he is Catholic and that he goes to mass every Sunday.
In Rio de Janeiro, there is a dispute for the Christian vote between the current mayor, Eduardo Paes (PSD), and his main opponent, Alexandre Ramagem (PL). Neither has an immediate association with the evangelical or Catholic public, and both have sought the support of pastors. Malafaia, who in São Paulo supports former president Jair Bolsonaro’s candidate, is a friend of Paes, and for now is remaining neutral in Rio.
Ramagem already has the support of figures such as pastor Marcelo Bruner and has held a series of meetings with evangelical leaders. On Monday (23), he announced via social media that he had received official support from the Evangelical Convention of the Assemblies of God in Rio (Ceader).
On the same day, Paes made a nod to the Catholic electorate with a photo in an audience with Cardinal Orani João Tempesta. Two days earlier, he had visited a temple of the Worldwide Church of the Power of God to receive the blessing and support of pastor Valdemiro Santiago. The previous week, I had posted a photo in the temple of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in Realengo.
In other capitals in Brazil, there are similar disputes for the evangelical electorate, such as in Recife, where the current mayor, João Campos (PSB), has approached evangelical leaders to increase his favoritism over Gilson Machado Neto (PL), supported by Bolsonaro.
The effect of seeking to get closer to Christian people may vary according to the culture of the churches, says theologian
According to theologian and pastor Franklin Ferreira, columnist for People’s Gazette and Doctor of Divinity from Puritan Reformed Theological Seminaryreactions to the advances of political figures seeking acceptance among the evangelical electorate can vary greatly according to different cultures within churches.
“Perhaps Pentecostal and neo-Pentecostal groups are more susceptible to following the guidance of their leaders. In historic churches, this is very difficult to happen, and the pastor’s attitude will be repudiated. There are social and cultural issues behind such stances”, he comments .
The risk to the credibility of the discourse of rapprochement with evangelicals is especially high for candidates from the progressive left, who tend to exhibit values contrary to Christians on fundamental issues.
In August, the Perseu Abramo Foundation, the theoretical arm of the PT, published a booklet to guide dialogue between the party’s candidates and evangelicals for the municipal elections. The objective of the material is to show “how to talk to evangelical Christians in the country”.
Perseu Abramo warns candidates about the commandment not to use God’s name in vain and “not to quote God every moment”. “For those who don’t believe, the best thing is not to talk about it and not try to quote the Bible without knowing it, at the risk of damaging its credibility and creating resistance”, states the document.
The booklet is just one of several initiatives that the progressive left has promoted in recent years to forge a bridge with evangelical voters. For Ferreira, they “are trying to attract the unwary”.
“The fact is that evangelicals have become an important mass in the political game. Hence the attempts to approach the left, trying to hide customary agendas, which are very important for the evangelical segment”, he says.
