In the last few days before the 2026 elections, Flávio Bolsonaro and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — Brazil’s two leading presidential candidates — were embroiled in controversies centered on the same issue: religion.On Aug. 23, during a debate in one of Brazil’s main TV networks, Flávio Bolsonaro, son of jailed former president Jair Bolsonaro, released a video promising that one of his first acts, if elected, would be to declare that “Brazil belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ.”Weeks later, a commentary by a guest on GloboNews, Brazil’s main cable news channel, regarding the reaction of Catholic groups to an alleged evangelical mobilization circulated on social media, attributing to the candidate a plan to strip Our Lady of Aparecida of her title as the patron saint of the country.Flávio Bolsonaro denied the plan, and the network apologized, but the story circulated widely and often without the later clarifications — a typical feature of fake news.To reach out to Catholics, Bolsonaro displayed an image of the saint and participated in a Catholic podcast. However, the day before, he accused the Brazil’s National Conference of Bishops (CNBB) of collaborating with Lula’s Workers’ Party (PT) to spread the story about the country’s patron saint title.Although the CNBB denied it, the closeness between Lula and the Catholic Church has been a subject of contention. Bishops and archbishops have publicly supported issues attributed to the PT campaign, suggesting institutional endorsement. In addition, Lula used his campaign TV airtime to issue a statement condemning Flávio’s alleged plan to strip Our Lady of Aparecida of her title as the patron saint of the country: “To attack one religion is to attack them all.” Faith as a campaign languageIn Brazil, religion is the dominant cultural grammar. More than a simple expression of individual faith, religion functions in politics as a sociolinguistic marker of order and authority. By drawing on shared symbols — whether biblical quotations, appeals to transcendence, or the defense of ideas — candidates are not merely proselytizing but transferring the credibility of the sacred to their secular discourses.Faith operates in public debate not merely as a system of individual beliefs, but as discourse and a marker that classifies acts, discourses, actors and institutions. Similarly, narratives and symbols of a religious nature provide collective perspectives on what is just, authentic and in the common interest, functioning as important mechanisms for producing meaning in everyday life and social order.Research in 2026 by Brazil’s Institute for Religious Studies (ISER) titled Religion and Public Life in Brazil, which surveyed 15,000 people in 412 of the country’s municipalities, found that Catholics and Evangelicals account for 79% of the population. A total of 73% of Brazilians report using the Bible as a source of moral and daily guidance, and 67% listen to gospel music regularly. In an electorate with such deep religious underpinnings, invoking religious symbols is not merely a strategy for engagement, but an attempt to use the language of the majority to build bridges of legitimacy between the state bureaucracy and voters.The mosaic of faithThe ISER survey also reveals a religious landscape that is far more complex and porous than the simplistic division between “Catholics on one side and Evangelicals on the other.”The major misconception in electoral strategies lies in treating the faithful as “rigid blocs,” when the data points to fluidity and stratification.Brazil remains predominantly Catholic, accounting for 50% of the population (31% self-decribe as practicing and 19% non-practicing), while Evangelicals represent 29% (21% Pentecostals, 5% Protestants, and 3% unaffiliated) and those without religious beliefs account for 14%.However, internal dynamics break down these static boundaries:- 23% of Brazilians have changed religions at some point in their lives;- 6 out of 10 young people under 35 are not Catholic;- 55% of people with no religious affiliation listen to gospel music on a daily basis.A poll by Brazilian public opinion research company Quaest released Sept. 28 reflects these trends: Lula leads among Catholics (48% versus Flávio Bolsonaro’s 29%), while Flávio Bolsonaro leads among evangelicals (46% versus Lula’s 27%, which is an increase from the 23% recorded the previous week).However, these figures reflect general tendencies within groups, not uniform behavior.The difference between belonging and obeyingThe ISER study helps explain why religion shapes the language of public debate without necessarily determining how people vote. Religious identity does not translate into automatic alignment with party platforms or religious orientations.Although 54% of respondents identify as conservative, 75% support the Bolsa Família – Brazil’s main social programs – and 66% advocate for taxing the wealthiest more than at present. These data indicate that moral conservatism coexists with a strong demand for social protection and economic redistribution.Furthermore, the survey reveals that a majority of the faithful reject the use of the pulpit for electoral purposes. The survey shows that 8 out of 10 respondents are opposed to political discussion within religious settings. This debunks the notion that the evangelical or Catholic electorate automatically follows the guidance of their church’s leaders.The evangelical segment, for example, is divided along lines of class, gender, and region — socioeconomic variables that often shape voters’ worldviews and choices more strongly than their institutional affiliation.The grammar of care as a point of convergenceReligion does not decide the election on its own, but it is the channel through which the electorate’s demands are articulated. For this reason, the mobilization of religious language is not limited to the realm of customs, but extends to everyday public policies. A concrete example of this connection occurs when Lula’s campaign reaches out to churches as key partners in implementing a national policy of care for the elderly population.Religion shapes the worldview and values of a large portion of Brazilians, but when it comes time to cast a vote, these values are weighed alongside concrete material concerns: health, work, income, security, and family well-being.The data suggest that the public is not assessing the candidates’ individual levels of faith, but rather evaluating their ability to govern and address the demands of daily life. In this context, analysis of the polls indicates that candidates who are able to frame their platforms in terms of care, economic stability and social support — using the cultural language of faith without veering into sectarianism — tend to resonate more strongly with the electorate.Manuela Lowenthal não presta consultoria, trabalha, possui ações ou recebe financiamento de qualquer empresa ou organização que poderia se beneficiar com a publicação deste artigo e não revelou nenhum vínculo relevante além de seu cargo acadêmico.