Language and Religion

Language

The Spanish greeting "Buenos días" is the way to say "good morning," "hello," or "good day" in every South American country except Brazil. In Brazil, people say "Bom dia," which is Portuguese for the same greetings. Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in the Western Hemisphere. But because there are many Brazilians, Portuguese has become a major world language. Brazilian Portuguese is much like the language spoken in Portugal except that it is spoken with a different accent and intonation. A visitor from Portugal would also have to learn new words that have been added to the language by Africans and Indians.

Many educated Brazilians also speak Spanish, and many are fluent in English and French. German and Italian are spoken by several million in the southern states.

Religion

Most Brazilians are Roman Catholics. This gives Brazil the distinction of having the largest Catholic population of any nation in the world. There are also many Protestants in Brazil. In fact, Evangelical Protestants represent the country's fastest-growing religious group. Smaller numbers of Buddhists and Jews make their homes in Brazil. An unusual mixture of African religions and Roman Catholicism known as candomblé is practiced by many Brazilians of African descent in the cities and the Northeast.