Until 1994, gay rights and parades were virtually unheard of and non-existent in
Brazil. Yet, from 1995 on, after the first ILGA conference in Rio de Janeiro,
homosexual activism became increasingly powerful in visibility, until the
arrival of the Lula government, when their highest intentions and values became
a threat and reality predominant in the Brazilian society.
The social and
moral structure of Brazil in the decades of 1950 and 1960 was basically strong,
largely because of the predominant Catholicism in more than 90 percent of the
population. In many places, evangelicals were threatened with lynching if they
tried to evangelize, especially in small towns. Homosexual activity was a
shameful and secret behavior, despised by the society. A girl pregnant out
of wedlock ran the risk of being expelled from her house. The Brazilian people
were socially conservative, although the Carnival and public prostitution were
threat to the society came from radical leftist movements. Communists almost
took control in Brazil in 1964, but the military took over the government and
was able to stop a communist coup.
Church was a driving force against the communist threat, but after Vatican II
many Catholic leaders began surrendering to the Theology of Liberation. In the
decades of 1970 and 1980, traditional Protestant churches embraced Protestant
versions of Liberation Theology. In the late 1990s and early 2000, some
Pentecostal and charismatic churches also subscribed. These leftist Christians
are today known as progressistas. The Brazilian term
progressista (progressive), according to the noted Aurélio Dictionary of
Portuguese Language, means “someone who, though not being a member of a
socialist or communist party, accepts and/or supports socialist or Marxist
principles.” So evangélicos progressistas are evangelicals
committed to supporting and promoting the socialist agenda.
Theology can boast an important victory in Brazil, for having a 73.6 percent
Catholic population; Brazil is the largest Catholic country in the world.
Protestants are 15.4 percent. “Progressive” Christians are a growing
presence and influence among both of these Christian religions.
military left the government in 1985, leftist politicians, supported by the
Comunidades Eclesiais de Base (Base Ecclesiastical Communities [BECs],
where progressive Catholic leadership encouraged poor Catholic communities to
get involved in political action according to Liberation Theology tenets),
began to heavily affect the political and social system, leading Brazil
gradually leftward. BECs were the most important support behind the main popular
leftist party in Brazil, Partido dos Trabalhadores
(Workers’ Party), better known by its acronym PT.
leftism, abortion and homosexuality began to be promoted as rights in the decade
of 1990. (In the decade of 1980, there were leftists advocating abortion and
homosexuality, but while abortion advocates had limited visibility and no legal
influence, the rare gay advocates had none at all — except in a very few
isolated examples, especially in universities.) Even though there are no
anti-sodomy laws in Brazilian society, its religious heritage had always been an
important social factor discouraging such behavior.
Less conservative in the heart and more in the image: the current political
ethics in Brazil
abortion is presently legal only in cases of rape and when the life of a mother
is at risk. Because of religious influence, the fight to expand legal abortion
has faced considerable obstacles to achieve the success that feminists achieved
in the U.S. in 1973.
religious influence, both Catholic and evangelical, is increasingly less
conservative and more liberal, even though most of the population does not
understand the gradual change.
the best way to popular appeal in Brazil is to have a conservative image. To
draw votes, political candidates in Brazil are supposed to present the image of
being conservative Christians on moral issues. Even radical Socialists (who are
clearly pro-abortion and pro-homosexuality in their political actions out of
election times) make this kind of appeal. On the other hand, “conservative”
candidates have to demonstrate their sympathy for the welfare state. Yet these
“conservatives” are not solid in their moral stand on abortion and especially on
homosexuality, and eventually make moral compromises after their election.
Brazil knows no major political figure solid in practical actions against
abortion and homosexuality. The few Catholics and evangelicals vocally opposed
to abortion are not politicians.
are only a minority, but their votes are eagerly coveted. In 2002, presidential
candidate Lula was promoted among many evangelical leaders by a moral and
religious appeal. In the past, these same “conservative” leaders (traditional,
Pentecostal, and charismatic) had always disliked Lula and his party as a
communist threat. Yet, with the assistance of an American minister — the Rev.
Jesse Jackson — they changed their minds. Jackson, who was brought to
Brazil by PT especially for that mission, was able to convince them that Lula
was not such a threat. According to the Internet newspaper Folha Online,
Rev. Jackson has been a friend of many years standing with PT.
In the PT official website there is even an entire page flattering “comrade
these leaders became signers of the public document Manifesto de Evangélicos
(Evangelical Manifesto), proclaiming to the evangelical population their stand
for Lula. Among the great number of signatories were Rev. Nilson Fanni, former
president of the World Baptist Alliance, and Rev. Gilherminho Cunha, a
high-ranking Presbyterian minister and president of the Bible Society of Brazil.
In the paper which was amply distributed by PT, all of those leaders state:
We support Lula for President because we recognize that several proposals of his
Government Program are similar to the prophetic calling of the Church of Jesus
We express our public support to Lula’s candidacy in order to oppose the wicked
and insignificant rumors leading some to an understanding that his election to
the Presidency of Republic will obstruct the walk of the Evangelical Churches.
document was prepared with the assistance of MEP (Movimento Evangélico
Progressista, or Progressive Evangelical Movement). Individual denominations
also expressed their support, especially mainline liberal Protestant churches.
For the first time Pentecostal and charismatic churches copied their example.
Comunidade Evangélica Sara Nossa Terra (Heal Our Land Evangelical
Community), a large national denomination, said on its website in 2002:
Evangelical Manifesto in Support of Lula’s Candidacy for President of Brazil
We manifest our support for the Lula candidacy because of an established
commitment between an eventual Lula government and the evangelicals here
We support Lula because:
• He has been demonstrating that he believes in a balanced and democratic
Socialism, respecting the highest tenets of democracy;
• He has been affirming his [belief] in the highest values of the Holy
Scriptures: God, family, morality, ethics, religious freedom, and democracy;
• He has made a commitment to develop our society, having the Church as a
partner with his government;
• He understands and believes in the existence and in the historical role of the
Church as an instrument for the formation of fundamental values for human life,
both in individual and social aspects;
• His greatest motivation for his government project is to help the poor
and less favored people, according to the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ and
the Holy Scriptures.
MESSAGE TO THE BRAZILIAN CHURCH:
Why we suport Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as President of the Republic.
• Lula deserves a vote of trust from our society... Lula today is one of
the most trusted leaders of our nation.
• Lula has made a partnership commitment with the evangelical churches for
social construction, removing the stigma that evangelicals are only sought in
election times. He has also been declaring that he believes in the highest
values of the Holy Scriptures, as “God, Family, Morality, Ethics, Religious
Freedom, Democracy, and the Option for the Poor.”
Thus, we see that the rumors saying that Lula and PT are noxious to the Gospel
are now refuted, demonstrating that radical attitudes that were taken by other
PT local administrations were isolated initiatives.
For all of those reasons the Sara Nossa Terra Bishop Council is confident to
vote for and support the Lula candidacy for president of Brazil.
on behalf of the Sara Nossa Terra Bishop Council
Sara Nossa Terra
was, until late 1990s, an anti-Marxist church. After many years of an
anticommunist stand, it was a surprise to watch evangelicals and their leaders
turning left. The moralistic appeal of Lula among evangelicals was also a
surprise: he promised to evangelical leaders that his future administration
would not promote abortion and homosexuality. The result? After victory in the
election, Lula and his party kept working on the same agenda that they had in
the past. PT was again the main abortion and homosexuality supporter in Brazil.
most of the Christian denominations supporting Lula and PT do not approve of
homosexuality and abortion, their shift to the role of evangélicos
has left them in a strange and paradoxical position politically.
Homosexuality in Brazil
statistics are gathered in Brazil to determine the number of homosexuals.
According to the Lula government data, they are over 10 percent of the
population. Such data come from NGOs that have contacts with American NGOs.
Their basic source is the Kinsey Report. Almost all the other official data on
homosexuals in Brazil has direct or indirect influence from information common
in the U.S. and not from Brazilian studies. In fact, in spite of the
predominant, leftist anti-Americanism in Brazil, there is an almost perfect
leftist cloning of the American homosexual reality.
There may be a
religious factor in Brazilian homosexuality. A minority of the Brazilian
population adheres to
Candomblé and other Afro-Brazilian religions (similar to Santeria),
where homosexuality is common. For a comparison, there are some 19,000
recognized Catholic parishes in Brazil. Informal Candomblé
temples are supposed to number some 12,000 in Rio de Janeiro alone.
Candomblé, many priests and priestesses are homosexual.
Luiz Mott, the
leader of the homosexual movement in Brazil, is a firm adherent of Candomblé.
Brazilians turn to Afro-Brazilian religions in search of miracles to solve
personal or family problems. Even former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso,
though a Marxist and an atheist, had sympathy for and sometimes visited
were always a very small group in the society, and the current impressive
homosexual growth in Brazil is due to the seductive propaganda directed to the
public. Soap operas, very popular TV shows in Brazil, give the public positive
images of homosexual characters. On the other hand, conservative Catholics and
evangelicals are represented as strange, intolerant, suspicious, fanatical, and
surrounded by the artillery of the homosexual favoritism on the media, an
increasingly large number of curious youths demonstrate interest in
Behind the tsunami
the homosexual movement on TV has been practically total, where many shows use
strategies that distort reality, presenting to the public a false world where
gays and lesbians are glad, happy, fulfilled, and, usually, more intelligent and
sensitive individuals than normal men and women. The “dark side is properly
hidden, so that nobody will see that their behavior is linked to an indisputable
reality of suffering, where gays live, oppressed by serious mental, emotional,
and social dysfunctions.
There is an
immense effort to show that those natural consequences don’t have any connection
with the abnormality of their sexual acts. That effort also tries, with the
assistance of fraudulent research and studies, to prove “scientifically” that
the abnormal is as normal as what is really normal. In fact, the document
Brazil without Homophobia
says: “In the same way that heterosexuality (attraction for a person of the
opposite sex) does not have any explanation, so homosexuality does not too. It
depends on each person’s sexual orientation.” This document was published by the
Lula administration to support its nationwide Brasil sem Homofobia
(Brazil Without Homophobia) campaign, which was launched on May 2005. This
federal initiative — described as a “National Program for Combating Violence and
Discrimin-ation against Gays, Lesbians, Transgender People, and Bisexuals, and
for the Promotion of the Citizenship of Homosexuals” — is virtually unique in
the world. It aims to strengthen both public and non-governmental institutions
that promote gay rights. It does this through education on human rights, both of
the general public and within GLBT communities and by encouraging GLBT people to
complain to public institutions about violations of their supposed rights.
effort is producing fruits. In São Paulo, the largest city in Brazil, there is
now the Group for Repression and Analysis of Intolerance Crimes and the Racial
and Intolerance Crimes Police Station. “The Racial and Intolerance Crimes Police
Station shall, above all, take into consideration cases where society segregates
a person for his sexual orientation... Margarette Barreto Gracia, police chief
of the new station, pointed out that victims of intolerance crimes should seek
out the police station and denounce their aggressor.”
according to the Lula administration, can be obvious or veiled, involving
discrimination in selection for employment, rental of housing, entry into the
armed forces, medical school, dental school, a theological college, a Christian
school...Whatever its manifestation, the Brazilian government believes that so
called homophobia inevitably involves injustice and social exclusion.
It wants to
eliminate such “homophobia” throughout Brazilian society. To achieve such a wide
Brazil Without Homophobia campaign involves twenty ministries and special
secretariats: the Ministries of Foreign Relations, Justice, Education, Health,
Labor, and Culture, and the Special Secretariat on Policies for Women, the
Special Secretariat on Policies for the Promotion of Racial Equality, the
Special Secretariat on Human Rights, and the National Secretariat on Public
Safety. It also involves a series of other governmental organizations, such as
the National Council on Combating Discrimination, State and Municipal Councils
on Human Rights, State and Municipal Secretariats on Public Safety,
universities, the Office of the Federal Prosecutor for Citizens’ Rights, the
Public Ministry of Labor, in addition to the Brazilian Parliament itself.
effort leaves no part of society untouched. The coming generations are also of
special government concern. So the Brazilian government for the first time in
its history, on April 2006, initiated a partnership with a gay group. With the
assistance of the NGO
Arco-Íris (Rainbow), the Ministry of Education began training public and
private school teachers to address homosexual issues and teach children to fight
The Lula administration views such partnerships as a necessary strategy, for it
has been informed by UNESCO that 60 percent of Brazilian teachers think that
homosexual sex is unacceptable.
In the official
curriculum of the Ministry of Education, there is the demand that every school
fight prejudice against differences. The partnership with Arco-Íris
is seen as a way to effectively train teachers to implement the official
curriculum itself and to handle issues as human rights (for homosexuals, not
Christians), homophobia, gender identity, sexual orientation and diversity.
has received a government grant to accomplish such goals.
Through such a
partnership and other efforts from the Brazil Without Homophobia
program, children are being indoctrinated systematically in the “Gospel of
There are even textbooks to encourage homosexuality. “In Brazil, there are, at
the time being, few titles, but publishers have already shown their interest in
this market. Educators too: one of the first books to address the subject
is Menino Ama Menino (Boy Loves Boy, publisher: Armazém das
Idéias), by Marilene Godinho, which tells of a boy who found that he was in
love with another boy. This book is part of the literature package
distributed by the Ministry of Education in the public schools.”
President Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva likes to portray his administration as a
Socialist government favoring interests of less developed nations and not
accepting American and European influences. Nevertheless, he has imitated their
worst examples. His Workers’ Party has employed actions no past government of
Brazil did: it has facilitated the introduction of pro-homosexuality laws, and
it has been a strong advocate for affirmative action based on racial preferences
for minority groups. So for the first time, Brazilian society sees a president
acting in a totally new political way.
His actions are
not original to Brazil. American and European societies have, under the pressure
of special interest groups, known such political experiences for a number of
years. Interestingly, in the racial issue, advocates of affirmative action in
Europe and in the U.S. are swift to point to and condemn the slavery of blacks
by whites in the past and exploit such situations to their extreme political
advantage, but they are equally swift to neglect, excuse, or hide the past and
current violent slavery of blacks by blacks in some African countries, including
modern-day Sudan. So the notion of affirmative action, as originally employed in
the developed nations by special interest groups and as copied by countries like
Brazil, is a form of ideological oppression that will eventually lead to other
forms of oppression, including from the gay-ideology activists.
There should be
no doubt that the current Brazilian president has a gay agenda. Twice,
Lula expressed his support of the homosexual movement. In June 2005, he sent a
letter to the gay parade of Brasilia, saying, “any way of loving is worthwhile.”
In June 2006, he reaffirmed such support, by sending to the gay parade of São
Paulo the following message:
It is with satisfaction that I answer the kind invitation to address the
participants of the 10th GLBT Pride Parade, in São Paulo. I want to greet the
organizers of this event and transmit — to all who battle to promote the dignity
and the defense of the rights of gays, lesbians, and transgender people — words
of encouragement, faith and trust in the results of the efforts that, in
partnership, we have been developing, since the beginning of our administration,
with the goal to change the reality that we had received.
Our government was established with the firm purpose of combating the threats to
the people’s rights based on any kind of prejudice: of origin, race, ethnicity,
age, religious belief, political conviction, or sexual orientation.
With that purpose, we have strengthened the Special Secretariat for the Human
Rights, which instituted, during our administration, Brazil Without Homophobia,
a program to combat violence and prejudice against GLBT and to promote
homosexual citizenship. That program has been necessary because all people
should be made conscious of human rights, which include the free expression of
sexual orientation. People may only be made conscious through publicly
integrated politics that include affirmative actions, especially in the
Human rights education encourages people in a formal and informal way to
contribute for the citizenship construction, for the knowledge of those rights,
and for the consequent respect to plurality and diversity, not only sexual, but
ethnic, racial, cultural, sporting, and religious.
However, schools should not be the only source promoting those ideas: the media
should also get involved in this effort, for they have an enormous power for
penetrating the society. The media and information outlets, through their
programs and images, assume a fundamental role in the human rights education as
they are committed to the propagation of ethical and citizenship values.
Because of their role as public opinion shapers, the press, radio, and TV
professionals should be a source of production and broadcasting of contents
related to tolerance and acceptance of multiple differences, and ultimately, the
respect to the human person with a view to establish a culture of peace and love
toward the neighbor and build a fairer, kinder, and more solid society.
Our government is firmly determined to defend those values and it wants to
continue, especially counting on the cooperative action from the organizations
that bring together gays, lesbians, and transgender people to achieve that
objective, and it will remain open to welcome other contributions, as in the
area of STD prevention.
I want all to know that we remain at your side in this fight. A few days ago, in
the Third High Authorities Human Rights Meeting of Mercosur, in Buenos Aires,
Brazil suggested the introduction of two items for consideration: the theme of
torture and cruel and degrading treatment and the fight against prejudices for
sexual orientation. Another initiative came from the Special Secretariat for the
Human Rights, launched on June 9, in the State Legislature of São Paulo, the
Brazil Without Homophobia program, during solemn session where the
legislative authorities from São Paulo celebrated the GLBT Pride Day on the
solicitation of State Deputy Ítalo Cardoso [from PT].
I want this parade to result, as has been happening with other similar events,
in peace and happiness, with a view to being an important sign of the increasing
visibility of the homosexual movement and a sign of consequent gathering of
forces in the fight against resistance and prejudice.”
Receive my fraternal hug.
President Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva
Of course, the
Lula support is not limited to words only. The Brazil Without Homophobia
program counts on a federal budget of 125 million Real (about 60 million
dollars) for 2006. For a nation that has experienced great economic hardship,
such an amount is not insignificant. Gay parades, seen by the government as
cultural events, also receive grants in the millions.
has produced striking results. In 2005, Brazil was the world champion in gay
parades. In 2006, the São Paulo gay parade was the largest in the whole world.
Lula administration has not been aggressive only in its pro-homosexuality
domestic push. It also has an international agenda, and it has shown its
domestic policies to other nations. Before the United Nations General
Assembly, Brazilian Ambassador Frederico Duque Estrada Meyer said Brazil had the
program entitled Brazil Without Homophobia, which outlined actions to
strengthen public and non-governmental institutions for combating homophobia;
capacity-building for professionals involved in promoting the rights of
homosexuals; disseminating information of rights and promoting homosexual
self-esteem; and stimulating complaints on violations of rights.”
Organization of the American States, Brazil introduced a resolution for the
establishment of a future Inter-American Convention against Racism and All Forms
of Discrimination and Intolerance. The resolution was approved in 2005.
Its most important ambition was its leading role in a world campaign, in the
United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR), to characterize any form of
discrimination based on sexual orientation as violence against human rights.
April 2003 meeting of the UNCHR, the Brazilian government (supported by Canada
and the European Union) introduced its Resolution on “Human Rights and Sexual
Orientation.” This resolution recognizes homosexual conduct as a human right.
Obviously, Brazil, Canada and the European Union knew that the great majority of
international public opinion was against the attitude of giving special rights
for individuals practicing homosexuality.
was a surprise to the Brazilian Congress in Brasilia, which learned about it
only some time after the Brazilian delegation in the UN had already presented
it. It was a surprise also to the evangelical leaders, for before the 2002
presidential elections, Lula had made the commitment in a meeting with important
ministers and bishops not to let his government promote issues favoring abortion
and homosexuality. Yet, the Brazilian delegation in the UN, which represents the
Brazilian government’s interests and views, has defended just these issues,
under a carefully veiled language of “reproductive rights” and “sexual
Dr. Elimar Damasceno requested directly from the Brazilian government an
explanation for its resolution in the UN. He noted that it “deals with a subject
where there are no approved laws in our country and where there is no consensus
in our society, because of its religious and cultural consequences.”
The Foreign Affairs Ministry in Brasilia officially refuted Rep. Damasceno,
to your last question on “who has authorized the [Brazilian] representatives [in
the UN] to present the mentioned Proposal of Resolution,” it is proper to point
that... the politics of Brazil in the human rights issues are explicitly
favorable to the promotion and protection of the minority rights.
So according to
the Brazilian government’s view, those practicing homosexuality are a minority
deprived of protection. According to the draft of the resolution:
and fundamental freedoms are the birthright of all human beings, that the
universal nature of these rights and freedoms is beyond question and that the
enjoyment of such rights and freedoms should not be hindered in any way on the
grounds of sexual orientation.
Minister Samuel Guimarães, from the Foreign Affairs Ministry, affirmed, “So the
main aim of the [resolution] is to guarantee the principle of non-discrimination
— the cornerstone of the building of promotion and protection of human rights
since its beginning in the United Nations system — regarding groups
discriminated against around the world because of their sexual orientation. This
position is based on the notion that advancement in the subject of human rights
benefiting a discriminated minority represents gain to other groups suffering
the Lula resolution was not successful in 2003. UN Brazilian ambassadors made
new endeavors in 2004, and were faced with Muslim opposition. In 2005, the Lula
administration gave its resolution up prematurely out of respect to Muslim
leaders taking part in the Summit of South American-Arab Countries in Brasilia.
Out of respect to them, the Lula administration also cut Israel from the map
used by the Foreign Affairs Ministry at the Summit.
In the Lula’s
strategic socialistic agenda, homosexuality may be sacrificed for Muslim
interests, but not for the Bible or moral interests. It sacrifices Israel much
more easily than it sacrifices homosexuality.
Gay strategies for visibility
The main pushes
from the homosexual movement are its efforts for visibility, especially through
gay parades and public kisses, where gay couples kiss one another challenging
social mores. Through such actions, gay militants publicize themselves and their
cause. When challenging laws restricting or prohibiting their public kisses,
their maneuvers appeal for laws for their protection and against prejudice. So a
mere kiss in a busy shopping mall may seem to them a significant legal
visibility strategy is parades. In 2005, 75 parades throughout Brazil were
recorded. In 2006, Brazil saw some 102 parades. The 2006 gay parade in São
Paulo drew 2.4 million.
the Associated Press:
The 10th annual Sao Paulo Gay Pride Parade saw go-go boys and drag queens
dancing on the roofs of sound trucks blasting music as they rolled down the
skyscraper-lined Avenida Paulista — the financial heart of Brazil’s biggest
The march came two days after police said about 3 million people joined an
evangelical Protestant rally on the same Sao Paulo avenue, demonstrating their
growing influence in the world’s largest Roman Catholic country.
“The traditional church doesn’t want us,” said Pastor Justino Luis, 42, who
started a church serving 200 mostly gay and lesbian parishioners.
Waving a banner with the words, “I’m Happy, Gay and Christian,” Luis said, “I
know (God) loves me the way I am, and I know when he made me he planned for me
to be the way I am.”
strategy is very effective, for two days before the gay parade, evangelicals had
their March for Jesus, yet the great media outlets focused their attention on
the gay rally. The March for Jesus was largely ignored, except for a few
gays participating and trying to show that they were also evangelical.
actions are very intense too. Through the assistance of gay lobby groups and
leftist politicians, a Parliamentary Front for Free Sexual Expression was
founded, consisting of many members of the Chamber of the Deputies. It seeks to
introduce bills favoring the interests of the gay lobby.
As for the gay
lobby, it seeks: 1) Implementation and monitoring of the Brazil Without
Program; 2) Decentralization of resources and actions in STD and AIDS with
gays and others; 3) Approval of two federal laws by the National Congress
(prohibiting discrimination due to sexual orientation and registry of civil
partnerships; 4) the Brazilian Resolution in the UN’s Commission on Human
Rights against discrimination due to sexual orientation; 5) the defense of
a secular State that is against religious intolerance towards GLTB; 6) the
National Day Against Homophobia and Gay Pride Day.
Gay and PT
activist Beto de Jesus, who traveled to the U.S. some years ago to be trained by
his American counterparts and who has participated in the Brazilian delegation
to the UN, said: “We have a Parliamentary Front for the Free Sexual Expression
comprising almost 80 representatives and senators, but we cannot pass federal
laws due to the intolerance of religious representatives (Catholics and
evangelicals). Our Civil Partnership Bill has been stuck in Congress since 1996,
in spite of the efforts of Brazilian GLBT groups — over 200 in the country.”
This partnership bill was introduced by former PT Representative Marta Suplicy,
considered the Queen of Gays in Brazil since the first conference of ILGA in
Latin America in Rio in 1995.
Even though the
National Congress has not given its approval to the same-sex civil partnership
bill, gay activists are successfully conquering the sympathy of activist judges.
In Rio Grande do Sul State, in South of Brazil, such judges are opening ways to
gay marriage by giving to gay couples significant victories. Judge Roberto
Arriada Lorea told, “In no place is it said that homosexuals are not allowed to
marry and are not allowed to adopt a child.” Since 2004, register offices in Rio
Grande do Sul are bound to accept the register of stable union for homosexuals,
who are also entitled to adopt.
Facing the tsunami
mainline denominations in Brazil have embraced a psychological, secularist stand
on homosexuality. For example, the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran
Confession, a largely ethnic German denomination, officially declared on
homosexuality in 2001:
There is among
specialists, no absolute consensus nor in the science in regard to the nature of
homosexuality, nor in the biblical interpretation of those passages referring to
homosexuality. Neither there is such a consensus in the Evangelical Church of
Catholic Church has an official Vatican paper on homosexuality, but their
progressive bishops in Brazil have a hard time divulging it publicly. Many
Protestant churches have basically the same stand as the Vatican paper, but most
of them do not proclaim their views publicly. In mainline liberal
Protestant churches, the stand is public, but there is an effort to avoid
Biblical condemnation to homosexuality. And while most of the conservative
churches keep silent on the issue, Brazil has seen the growth of gay evangelical
churches as the Metropolitan Community Church, a gay denomination from the U.S.
Apart from the religious people, moral disapproval to homosexuality has been
rare, because of the social pressures condemning prejudice and homophobia.
Brazilians, especially the poor and the less intellectual, are protected from
the electronic media, and they represent a serious hindrance to the
establishment of amoral liberalism, where homosexuality is just an item of a
larger, sinister agenda.
evangelicals, there are some campaigns to reach out to men and women in
homosexuality. Movimento pela Sexualidade Sadia (Movement for a Healthy
Sexuality), an evangelical group headed by an ex-homosexual, leads efforts to
evangelize in gay parades, talking about Jesus to participants and delivering
leaflets featuring the testimonials of ex-gays and lesbians.
evangelical politicians have also been trying to counter the gay tsunami through
the introduction of bills. Among them are: Bill 2279/03 (Federal) authored by
Representative Elimar Damasceno that makes illegal the act of kissing between
persons of the same sex in public; Bill 2177/03 (Federal) authored by
Representative Neucimar Fraga that creates an aid and assistance program for
sexual reorientation of persons who voluntarily opt for changing their sexual
orientation from homosexuality to heterosexuality.
representative Edino Fonseca, an Assembly of God minister, introduced a bill in
the Rio de Janeiro State Legislature to establish social services to support men
and women wanting to leave homosexuality. He has also introduced a bill to
protect evangelical groups offering assistance to such men and women from
discrimination and harassment. His former bill was defeated by the powerful gay
lobby. The latter bill is facing severe opposition. It says: “No divulging
of information on the possibility of support and/or the possibility of sexual
reorientation of homosexuals is to be considered prejudice.”
With the kind
support of Focus on the Family and Dr. James Dobson, in 2004, I was able to
publish on several Brazilian websites, the document “The Gay Agenda and the
Sabotage of Human Rights,” written by Dr. Yuri Mantilla and translated and
adapted by me, exposing the Brazilian sexual orientation in the UN. The
following excerpts are from the document:
of sexual orientation as a human right will demolish the universal nature of
human rights. If sexual orientation (homosexuality) is recognized as a human
right, laws that protect family in every country will suffer grave assault and
will be changed so that individuals practicing homosexuality will have the right
to marriage, to adopt children, affirmative action and service in the military,
among many other privileges. If the gay lifestyle receives protection as a human
rights issue, then the universal meaning of the family will disappear. Such
acceptance of homosexuality will violate the rights of family and the legal
meaning of marriage of the overwhelming majority of people around the world. If
human rights are recognized based on the sexual behavior of persons practicing
homosexual acts, then what about the “rights” of pedophiles and other perverts?
This kind of approach, extremely subjective, knocks down the universal essence
of human rights. Homosexuality is not a human right, nor even a human need, but
only a desire to live sexually against nature, and such desires and behaviors
cannot be given protection and privileges.
resolution of the Brazilian government also says: “Call upon all States to
promote and protect the human rights of all persons regardless of their sexual
orientation.” This action will be a serious menace to the right to religious
freedom, a universally recognized fundamental human right. Christianity and
other important world religions consider homosexual behavior to be a violation
of God’s laws, and if the resolution is approved, it will endanger the right to
religious freedom of millions of Christians around the world. They could
be prosecuted merely for expressing their beliefs about homosexual conduct and
for quoting texts from the Bible disapproving of same-sex acts. Even without the
approval of this resolution, it is impossible to address the problem of
propagation of homosexual behavior without suffering, especially from the
liberal press, accusations of homophobia (a new word coined to discourage those
wanting to discuss the problem seriously), intolerance and religious extremism.
Yet, the promotion of homosexual behavior, especially among males, spreads
also notes “the attention given to human rights violations on the grounds of
sexual orientation by the special procedures in their reports to the UNCHR, as
well as by the treaty monitoring bodies, and encourages all special procedures
of the UNCHR, within their mandates, to give due attention to the subject...”
It is a strange
paradox that a large country such as Brazil, with its huge Catholic and
Evangelical populations, is spearheading the invention of special rights for
individuals practicing homosexuality as a priority of its foreign policy. Even
though the pro-homosexuality position of the Brazilian government could be seen
by other Latin American nations as a totally novel way to address human rights
issues, this position is not new. It was not born in Latin America. For
several years morally decadent Western nations have, under the pressure of
pro-homosexuality activists, pushed such ideas, and they have always sought to
influence less developed countries. The current Brazilian government has
demonstrated its willingness to follow and conform to those influences.
Canada and the
European countries have been systematically advancing agendas that are contrary
to the legal, historical, and moral values of Latin America. The promotion of
abortion and special rights for individuals practicing homosexuality is part of
these agendas. What is really surprising is the position of the Brazilian
government, the main proponent of homosexual “rights” at the UN Commission on
Human Rights. The Socialist government of Brazil is imitating the European
pro-homosexual radicalism, and such radicalism is contrary to the laws and
culture of Brazil and Latin America.
document, I introduced all the names, addresses, email and phone contacts from
the Brazilian ambassadors to the UN. This alert helped mobilize some Catholic
and evangelical leaders. Later, international gay groups complained about the
successful Brazilian grass-roots efforts to press the Lula administration to
abandonits sexual orientation resolution in the UN.
The fight of an evangelical
medical literature in Brazil does not refer to homosexuality as an abnormal
behavior, for many fear the politically correct police. Yet, a courageous
evangelical psychologist Dr. Rozangela Justino, has founded Abraceh, the
Association for Support to the Human Being and Family, an NGO to help men and
women who want to leave homosexuality voluntarily.
attitude of showing compassion to homosexuals in need, Dr. Justino has been
suffering threats and intimidations even from the Federal Council of Psychology
Dr. Justino, “Most of the psychoanalysts consider homosexuality to be a
perversion and in a general way psychologists understand homosexuality as
immaturity in the psychosexual development. The World Health Organization
classifies several behaviors linked to homosexuality as disturbances and directs
people to seek treatment for change. From a spiritual perspective, it is a sin.
Nevertheless, the Federal Council of Psychology (FCP) issued the resolution
below. Because FCP issued this resolution, pro-homosexuality activists press the
Rio de Janeiro FCP chapter to punish me. I have been threatened by
administrative lawsuits from the FCP chapter, but they know that the Federal
Constitution and the Declaration of Human Rights favor me, for we still have
scientific, expression, and religious freedom in Brazil.”
excerpts from the Federal Council of Psychology Resolution
23 March 1999
norms of conduct for psychologists in regard to the subject of Sexual
homosexuality is not a disease, disturbance or perversion;
Psychology can and should contribute through its knowledge to clarify the
subjects of sexuality, helping to overcome pre-judices and discriminations;
Psychologists should contribute, through their knowledge, to a reflection on
pre-judice and to the extinction of discrimination and stigmatizations against
those demonstrating homoerotic behaviors or practices.
Psychologists shall not use any action for making homoerotic behaviors or
practices pathological, nor shall they use coercion to direct homosexuals to
paragraph: Psychologists shall not collaborate with events and services
proposing treatment and cures of homosexualities.
Psychologists shall not offer their opinions, nor will they participate in
public pronouncements, in the media, with a view to reinforcing existing social
prejudices in regard to homosexuals as sufferers of psychic disorders.
What should Brazilian
expansion has been extraordinary in Brazil, because gay activists and their
allies are completely focused on their goal. Likewise, evangelical churches
should focus on their responsibility to bring homosexual men and women into a
relationship with Christ.
and evangelicals need to be delivered from Liberation Theology and its
Protestant versions, which keep them focused on many irrelevant and diverting
issues. In order to face the social, political, and legal challenges from the
gay activism, Christians in Brazil should have a social and political
involvement free from “progressive chains.”
many evangelicals disagree with the abortion and homosexual position of the Lula
administration, they are urged by “progressive” propaganda to divert their
attention to many other issues: health, education, and job assistance to the
poor, etc. Homosexuality and abortion are just minor items on a long list of
leftist interests on the agenda of evangélicos progressistas. Sadly,
evangelicals in Brazil are misled into believing that Christian social action
preached by the progressistas
is the gospel.
counter these evangelical misconceptions about social action, there is a need to
launch efforts to educate the evangelical public that there is real social
action other than the progressive approach. Thus they would be better prepared
to face adequately major challenges, such as abortion and homosexuality. Of
course the other issues would also be addressed, but not from a leftist
people will choose their new president in 2006. Again, the candidates promise
social and political miracles and everything else appealing to the hearts of the
voters. The great tragedy is that, according to polls, most evangelicals will
vote for him who has during all of his administration promoted just the values
that the Bible condemns.
Sodomy means the homosexual perversion committed by the city of Sodom in the
United message, translated by Julio Severo: Source: http://www.pt.org.br/site/noticias/noticias_int.asp?cod=43692
LifeSite Daily News, July 3, 2003. See also: http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2003/wom1404.doc.htm
Requerimento de Informações nº 408, de 2003, do Dep. Elimar Máximo Damasceno,
Câmara dos Deputados, Brasília.
Ofício nº 34, do Ministério das Relações Exteriores, Brasília, datado de 11 de
julho de 2003.
Ofício nº 34, do Ministério das Relações Exteriores, Brasília, datado de 11 de
julho de 2003.
The Religion & Society Report, November 2003, p. 6.
Translated from the Portuguese version, where there are many textual
contributions by this author.