Religious racism drives social networks; understand what it means

It all started when three white participants on the show Big Brother Brazil, from TV Globo, they were terrified to see their black colleague Fred Nicacio praying, before going to sleep and in silence, the prayers of the Ifá cult. One of them warned that he would abandon the reality show if Nicácio insisted on prayers.

Immediately, on social media, the attitude was reported as religious racism. But do you know what that means?

What is religious racism?

This is an attack on black people for the simple fact that they follow Umbanda, the cult of Ifá or any other Afro-Brazilian religion, such as Candomblé, Batuque, Enchantment, Jurema, Nagô-Vodun, Tambourine de Mina , the terecó, the xangô and the shambá.

Violence can materialize in even more explicit and cruel ways. It is not uncommon for people to be insulted and attacked in the street, or terreiros to be closed due to neighborhood hostility, expelled from favelas by the rifles of drug traffickers or militiamen and even reduced to ashes by arson.

O religious racism will continue to feature in the news in the coming days, the day March 21st became, by force of law (14.519 Law), on the National Day of Traditions of African Roots and Candomblé Nations. The idea is that the commemorative date encourages debates, clarifications and solution proposals every year.

Researchers who focus on the religious racism explain that it is one of the tentacles of structural racism, the complex political, economic and social mechanism that makes black Brazilians a minority in terms of power, despite being the numerical majority (56% of the national population).

It is due to structural racism that this group has the lowest income, occupies the worst jobs, holds few political positions, is the biggest victim of violence, occupies a large proportion of prison spaces, has less education, lives in the poorest neighborhoods. precarious, die earlier, etc.

But how does calling someone pejoratively a “macumbeiro” or acting subtly or explicitly to make their religion disappear help trap black people as a whole in the lowest rungs of society? To respond, the babalorixá (pai of saint) Sidnei Barreto Nogueira, doctor in linguistics and semiotics and finalist for the Jabuti Prize with the book Religious intolerance (Editora Jandaíra), uses the history of Brazil:

"The origins of racism lie in the colonial period. To justify the enslavement and forced transfer of Africans to Brazil, Europeans created a hierarchy in the world. Everything that characterized black people would be inferior, from skin color to social organization, from behavior to cultural production. It was a deliberate way of dehumanizing them, objectifying them. Being lowly things, blacks could be enslaved at will, without whites bearing the burden of guilt. As part of this process, beliefs were also hierarchized. The religion of black people, therefore, would be nothing more than magic, superstition, idolatry, witchcraft“He explained.

According to Nogueira, the religious syncretism typical of enslaved people was not something natural. It was, in reality, a cultural survival strategy. They decided to insert elements of Catholic belief into African religions so as not to be repressed and, at the same time, maintain something of their ancestral cultures. That's why the Umbanda and Candomblé, although they have numerous African characteristics, do not exist in Africa.

The babalorixá explains that the Lei Áurea, of 1888, ended the separation of Brazil between masters and slaves, but it was not enough to eliminate racial hierarchy:

"Structural racism has adapted to new times. Black people continued to be treated as non-human and supported what is now known as “white privilege”. They freed themselves from shackles, but not from exploitation. It is for this reason that many people, deliberately or unconsciously, see African-based religions as inferior to hegemonic religions. This is what explains religious racism today“He concluded.

(With Agência Senado)

Read also

Religious intolerance: what it is and how to combat it

Religious intolerance is the attitude of disrespect, discrimination and even violence against individuals or groups because of their religious belief or practice. Unfortunately, this is a reality present in different parts of the world, and affects people of different religions. Religious intolerance can be manifested in different ways, such as verbal offenses, physical attacks, social exclusion and even terrorist acts.

What is racism? How does it occur and why is it important to combat it?

While black and brown people make up 54% of the Brazilian population, they represent 84% of those killed in police actions, according to data from the Brazilian Public Security Forum. The organization also reveals that 2 out of every 3 people incarcerated in the country are black. Racism and racial slurs became a crime in Brazil around 30 years ago. But, according to experts, the forms of racial discrimination are diverse and are part of everyday life in society. O Curto explains what the main forms of racism are and the concepts you need to understand about the racial issue in Brazil.

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