In appearance, it is an evangelical temple like any other. In Saúde, a working-class district in the center of Rio de Janeiro, the Caminho (“path” in Portuguese) church opens its doors at 10:30 a.m. for Sunday worship. About fifty worshipers take place on the plastic chairs of a room with decrepit walls. We sing, we pray to God, eyes closed and arms raised to the sky, to the rhythm of guitars and percussion. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Except that… the pastor of the day is not trivial. Full beard, dressed in a beige shirt, this one preaches without howling or accusing index. At the Caminho church, there is no politics or urgent appeals for donations, exorcisms or the promise of aberrant miracles. The clergyman is a scholar, who quotes his favorite films or poets, advocates “unlimited love” of Jesus rather than the hatred of the infidels.
Welcome to the temple of Henrique Vieira, 36 years old and already a small phenomenon in Brazil. Elected federal deputy, he embodies the hopes of the Brazilian left within the evangelicals, a community on the rise but mostly conservative, representing a third of the population. According to some studies, up to 70% of them would have voted in favor of the extreme right of Jair Bolsonaro in the presidential election, in 2022.
“I believe in a rebalancing”, insists Henrique Vieira. A member of the Socialism and Freedom Party (PSOL), the elected official is in favor of secularism, the legalization of marijuana and the decriminalization of voluntary termination of pregnancy – a taboo in Brazil. “Current legislation fails women, who must perform abortion in a dangerous and sometimes deadly way. We need to change our perspective on this subject.” supports the pastor opposed to all fundamentalism.
“A militant against the injustices of the world”
His record of religious service is beyond reproach. Born in Niterói, near Rio, he was born into an evangelical Baptist family. His mother and grandmother “practice a very simple and very true faith”, and, from the age of 15, the teenager preaches during small worship services. “I felt full and whole”, confides the one whose faith helps him to overcome the trials of life, in particular a serious inflammation of the optic nerve which will leave him almost blind for two years.
Henrique Vieira holds the cross and raises his fist. In college, he came under the influence of his history teacher, Marcelo Freixo, future deputy and hero of the Carioca left. “In his class, we discussed poverty, police violence, human rights. » His references are called Martin Luther King but also Dom Hélder Câmara and Frei Betto, Brazilian champions of liberation theology. “The Gospel opened up my human and social sensitivity. It makes me an activist against the injustices of the world”, he said.
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