Ty Trainer GLS-251 Dr.

Kimberley Jones, Tamara Boyens 04/27/2013 Multimedia Project Module Four Summary For the final installment of the Multimedia Project, I decided to adhere quite fervently, no pun intended, to the subject matter and title of the same module in which were engaged in class: lifestyles and beliefs. More specifically, I decided to explore the immense diversity found throughout Brazil in the form of its many religions and belief systems. Although Brazil serves as the largest population of Catholics in the world, I felt that it might be interesting to progress beyond the faade of religious hegemony and offer a comprehensive, though not exhaustive, review of the very religions and faiths that contribute to the unimaginable diversity contained within the South American country. I begin the module with a brief introduction to the intent of this module, that being a multimedia-based overview of the many religions and belief-systems that Brazil boasts and how a rich history of over 500 years of exploration, colonization, and slave trade have contributed to a varied and dynamic religious composition. I then begin discussion and review of the first religion explored, Catholicism, through a series of three photos that reflect the historic role influence that Brazils largest religion has yielded on its culture. The first, a photo of the iconic Primeira Missa no Brasil reveals how from what appears to be the first steps on Brazilian soil, colonists regarded evangelism and conversion as an essential aspect of what would become their new society. The second serves as a more quantitative infographic, revealing in detail the portion of Catholicisms adherents by state within the country. The third, a beautiful photograph of the gold leaf plated interior of the Convent of So Francisco in Salvador da Bahia serves to reflect the socioeconomic power both historically and currently wielded by those with religious

influence within Brazil. As I progress to Protestantism as the second largest religious following in Brazil and reflect on its growing number of participants, particularly among the lower and working classes, the including of a photograph of the illuminated Igreja Presbiteriana in Rio de Janeiro effectively illustrates the growth of protestant movements within the countrys large cities. The next religions explored, as a nod to the superb uniqueness of Brazilian religions, are Candombl and Umbanda, both syncretic Brazilian religions combining elements of Catholicism and traditional Yoruban African religions to form a faith-system completely unique to Brazil. This is illustrated through two photographs capturing celebrations and rites unique to the Northeastern religions, further exemplifying the cultural importance of fringe religions with minimal adherents and how they form an integral aspect of Brazilian society. The next segment of the blog is dedicated to Atheisms role as yet another fringe religion within the nation that is growing in both importance and follower populations. This idea is deeply explored within three videos listed sequentially, the second and third of which concern the growth of Atheism and Buddhism as belief-systems that dont advocate for the acknowledgement of a specific god or deity. In reflecting on Brazils Japanese population and its cultural significance as the biggest diaspora population outside of Japan, the cultural importance of Buddhism within Brazils large cities further serves to reinforce the very diversity that unites the unique corners of Brazilian society. This is then followed with three articles, from the Huffington Post, Patheos, and Reuters respectively, that offer differing perspectives on how the mergence of Atheism, both globally and within Brazil, contributes immensely to the very religious diversity for which the nation is known.