Obrigado Portugal: Notes from a Recent Visit
Near and far at the same time. Religiously and culturally, Portugal has a similar profile to Italy, where the Reformanda Initiative is based. A historically Catholic country steeped in Counter-Reformation Catholicism, only in the last century has it opened up to the evangelical witness that has taken root in Pentecostal, Brethren and Baptist church families. The evangelical presence, however, has never "broken through," but is instead characterized by small churches carrying all the challenges of a minority presence in a culture steeped in Catholicism and secularization. Furthermore, it is only since the late 1970s that the country has freed itself from dictatorship, and thus Portuguese evangelism has only in recent years appeared in international evangelical networks.
That said, in the last 10 to 15 years Portugal's religious landscape has experienced significant tremors; not yet earth shaking, but not negligible either. As of the 2011 census, in a country of 10 million people, evangelicals were reported to be 0.8 percent of the population. In the 2021 census (the most recent census) the percentage rose to 2.8 percent. For a southern European country, the change is significant. What happened to cause the growth? The increase is due largely to the immigration of Brazilian evangelicals who have more than tripled the number of evangelicals in the span of a decade. Today all evangelical churches in Portugal have a significant Brazilian component. The immigration phenomenon has also seen the founding of numerous churches of Brazilian culture.
As is always the case, the numbers say something, but they do not say everything. The reality on the ground is bittersweet. The growth of evangelicals has not come from the conversion of Portuguese, but from the arrival of Brazilian believers who speak Portuguese yes, but not quite the language of Pessoa and Saramago, and are bearers of a culture that the average Portuguese often perceives as too eccentric from the traditional Portuguese stamp of "saudade" (nostalgia, melancholy).
This is the situation we encountered on our trip to Portugal from May 1st – 4th. Invited by The Associação Proclama, we held conferences on evangelical faith in light of Roman Catholicism in Coimbra and Lisbon. In Coimbra there was an agape of the Brethren churches with two hundred people; then various meetings with leaders of various churches who attended seminars on the evangelical understanding of Catholicism. In Aveiro, a meeting with local churches was attended by 100 people. Also in Coimbra, a one-day conference (4 sessions) was attended by another 100 people. In Lisbon, we gave a lecture at the Martin Bucer Faculty of Theology (40 students attended) and then a conference at the First Baptist Church of Lisbon in the evening (50 people in attendance). Through collaboration with the Portuguese CLC, the various meetings were an opportunity to distribute Portuguese editions of Same Words, Different Worlds, and books on Mary and the Papacy.
Why this interest in Roman Catholicism and why this invitation for the Reformanda Initiative to visit and teach in Portugal? In various evangelical circles, there are growing concerns about "ecumenical" choices of key evangelical bodies and student movements that historically have maintained a clear position on ecumenical initiatives: Yes to respectful dialogue, while knowing that Catholicism is a deviation from the evangelical faith; No to "common mission" in the absence of agreement on the gospel. The World Youth Day in Portugal (2023 Catholic initiative), which included the participation of Pope Francis, saw some evangelicals pleading the cause of unity with Catholics through concerts, meetings and joint initiatives. This event highlighted how little the new generation of evangelicals understands what the doctrinal and spiritual commitments of Catholicism are and how these are not compatible with the cornerstones of the evangelical faith: Jesus Christ alone as Savior and Lord, the Bible as the supreme authority for faith and life, and faith alone as the way to salvation.
Our input was well received. We listened to many stories and questions and attempted to interact in a helpful and constructive way. During a brief break between lectures, we visited Fatima (a town between Lisbon and Coimbra), a place of Marian apparition and Catholic pilgrimage. There it is clear what the foundations of Catholicism are. In the large square of the shrine, there is a statue of Christ, but the real center is Mary. It is to her that the people kneel, and it is for her that they pray the rosary and offer candles and petitions. Everywhere near the shrine there are calls to "prayer," but it is prayer to Mary.
The square at Fatima mirrors Roman Catholicism: a universe of symbols, creeds and practices that are not in agreement with biblical Christianity. That is why evangelicals must exercise discernment and not give in to the sirens of those who say we must be "united." Unity is done in truth and charity. If it is not grounded in the Word of God and lived out by born-again believers, it is not Christian unity. We spoke much about this in Portugal and attempted to encourage evangelical discernment and the establishing of local initiatives to keep true Christian unity alive.
Obrigado Portugal.