BIBLE BABIESInside the Weird World of Brazil’s Child PreachersINTERVIEWS BY MARTINA KIX, TRANSLATED BY FILIPE PIRL 
| Ana Carolina Lucena Dias, Photos by Ezequiel Dias |
Managed by their parents, on tour 365 days a year, and charging $900 for a two-hour sermon, child preachers are big business in Brazil. Each event is a finely tuned marketing maneuver promoted with posters, magazine coverage, and radio ads. If you want one of these kid wonders to visit your parish, you’ll also have to fork over a down payment on a minimum of 150 DVDs (around $750).
Considering that there are approximately 17,000 evangelical parishes with over 24 million members across a country renowned for its drugs, violence, and general depravity, Brazil is a huge market for potential “salvation.” We met up with three of the country’s most popular pint-size proselytizers to see what happens when people stop being polite and start being Brazilian child preachers.
Ana Carolina Lucena Dias, 14 years old Vice: What was the first sign that maybe you had a special thing happening with God?
Ana: When I was three years old, I got pretty sick. I can’t really remember what happened, but my mom told me that I stopped breathing and my heart stopped beating for a couple of minutes. Then God sent an angel down to earth who rescued me. So I was reborn and started a new life. A few weeks after that I did my first sermon to share this miracle with other people because I wanted to help them find God too. Do you think your relationship with God is different from that of other Catholics?
It’s a little bit complicated. In the Bible you find people who are called the “chosen ones.” For example, Sansão [Sampson—of Delilah fame] was “chosen” by a prophet to be the voice of God on earth. I’m pretty confident about being one of those “chosen people,” too. Everybody recognizes the Holy Spirit right away and sees that I’m different from other kids because I’m a medium and God speaks through me. So in some ways I’m speaking to God right now?
No. Only when I preach can you hear the true voice of God. Do you have any religious training?
My parents couldn’t afford to send me to school. I grew up in the pretty poor favelas. I studied the Bible because it is the strongest book in the world and you can find the answers to everything in God’s words. In addition to that, my parents taught me how to be good. What role do your parents play in your life?
They are more than a mother and father to me: They are friends, pastors, and disciples. I would say they fill all the gaps in life on earth because they are always there. I am sure God sent them to help me. What do you do when you’re not spreading the Gospel? Do you enjoy things other children your age enjoy?
The Bible says that I don’t need to take time off because I’m God’s servant all the time and that is a blessing. You can rest when you are blessed, and you are blessed when you are dead. So I will continue to serve God as long as I live on earth. But don’t you ever miss your friends?
I hang out with kids my age in school, but as long as I have my parents and God, I don’t need more in life. No boyfriend then, I take it.
No. I belong to God. What kind of job would you like to do when you grow up?
I want to become a federal judge and hope I still have enough free time to go out on the streets and into the favelas to tell the people the word of God. I hope God will be in my life all the time. And as intense as he is right now.
See all articles by this contributor
| jnevs, on Aug 4, 2009 wrote:
theres alot of desperation in Brasil it isnt so outrageous that this happens children represent purity and brasil is a place full of controversy crime and poverty. | | Anonymous, on Aug 4, 2009 wrote:
This is child abuse, plain and simple. | |
| catbird, on Jul 13, 2009 wrote:
I can’t believe these kids don’t go to school! just because a prophet told their parent that they where chosen one’s! | | Anonymous, on Jun 20, 2009 wrote:
He has a H U G E left hand | |
| greeksalot, on Jun 5, 2009 wrote:
What bothers me the most is the fact that since children naturally assume that their parents tell nothing but righteous truth, these poor kids are spoon-fed all this total bullshit by those they trust the most | | |
| greeksalot, on Jun 5, 2009 wrote:
"The Bible says that I don’t need to take time off because I’m God’s servant all the time and that is a blessing. You can rest when you are blessed, and you are blessed when you are dead."
Cant someone please save this poor girl from the exploiters (her parents)?? | | Anonymous, on Jun 2, 2009 wrote:
WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH THE WORLD AND THESE CRAZY KIDS?
I thought the US was nuts with places like Jesus camp, but the fact that ’awesome exotic places’ like Brazil, who in my mind can do no wrong, now have caught on. Shit.
Some dude’s mum at my school told him he was the son of the Virgin Mary? He subsequently then went on to sell his soul on EBAY and film a cat dying in a jar on YOUTUBE?
How much can you really know at 14? You haven’t even made underage drunken mistakes yet. Thats when you will REALLY understand the meaning of cleansing. Literally and metaphorically. | | Anonymous, on May 27, 2009 wrote:
this needs a follow up 5 years from now. they’re successful because their youth is a novelty in this industry. | | Anonymous, on May 27, 2009 wrote:
this is a good sign, not because christianity is proof of progress, but because it appears that extreme evangelical power-house preacher moments in history are indicative of desperation which is often followed by power shifts and revolutions-- which brazil sorely needs. viva la revolucion! | | Anonymous, on May 27, 2009 wrote:
Its really annoying that people allow their children to be brainwashed into believing into something as crass as religion. It should be outlawed, it promotes uniform thinking and a really basic way of living. Sure, if you can apply all the good stuff to your life and because of it you’re a better person then great but I cannot see the point in ’giving yourself to Jesus’, look what happened when all those German’s ’gave themselves’ to Nazism. Right? Right. Now fuck off, I’m busy
Chesus Jrist | |
| Virgin Mary, on May 23, 2009 wrote:
I want to give birth to a "son of God" or maybe adopt one and explore it until I get rich with desperate poor people’s money. And while my son is preaching the stupid holly book of bullshits for retards I will be drinking and getting skin cancer in my big ass by the sea in Rio... | | Anonymous, on May 22, 2009 wrote:
this is really fucking depressing | | Anonymous, on May 22, 2009 wrote:
"Anonymous, on May 15, 2009 wrote:
Alot of you people think that these kids are being brainwashed and what not for the money, but once you give your life to Christ the material things of this world lose their luster. How do you know that the parents are not protecting their childrens money for them? Or are you jumping to conclusions and assuming that everyone in this fallen world is evil?"
Are you kidding? The parents aren’t "protecting their childrens money" from them just in case their lustre for material possesions returns: they’re using the kid as some conniving cash scam that sadly - because it involves God, the promise of salvation and an innocent little kid - works. So shut up about jumping to conclusions and accept that this is fucked up. | | Anonymous, on May 22, 2009 wrote:
scumnation says ’religion is child abuse’ | |
| tj, on May 20, 2009 wrote:
me and my friends wanted to start an elvis religion to try and make some money but then we realized its too corrupt to take money from a bunch of dumbasses! | | Anonymous, on May 19, 2009 wrote:
love the silhouetted fingers on the girl preacher’s snatch. god is such a perv. go all the way with jesus! morons and charlatans one and all. | | Anonymous, on May 19, 2009 wrote:
religion is a crutch for the mentally deficient. no exceptions. | | Anonymous, on May 19, 2009 wrote:
There’s an asshole born every minute. In this case, every three seconds. | | Anonymous, on May 18, 2009 wrote:
these kids are just babies! what do they know about life? and to have adults listen to them like they’re the prophet seem stpuid | |
| zerotransfat, on May 18, 2009 wrote:
"You can rest when you are blessed, and you are blessed when you are dead."
i was born into christianity. my parents are hardcore religious but me, not so much. the quote above? that’s the kind of shit that pisses me off. I get angry when I see shit like that. the kid’s parents piss me off and the kid pisses me off for not going against it and questioning anything.
| |
| bird is the word, on May 18, 2009 wrote:
this reminds me of the documentary "jesus camp" with all the young children preaching | | Anonymous, on May 18, 2009 wrote:
haha look at the picture of Matheus. he’s reaching out his hand as if to say "mooooreee moneeeyyy. give me more!"
| | Anonymous, on May 18, 2009 wrote:
"I want to become a federal judge"
and the scary thing is, is that she probably WILL be one. | |
| boggle_brains, on May 18, 2009 wrote:
they are all very touchy about the boyfriend/girlfriend question....suspicious. maybe they are all dating each other?! | | Anonymous, on May 17, 2009 wrote:
Fuck God.
Oh yeah, I forgot. There isn’t one.
My bad....... | | Anonymous, on May 16, 2009 wrote:
to jesus preaching on the 5th row down, this is exactly why the world is fallen. | | Anonymous, on May 15, 2009 wrote:
i would love to get all these kids in the same room and watch them tear each other apart arguing about who is really "chosen." | | Anonymous, on May 15, 2009 wrote:
"I mean look at how many people that get coming to see them too. they must make be crazy rish"
I want to make be crazy rish too! | | Anonymous, on May 15, 2009 wrote:
"Every preacher has his own ritual. The first thing is that I don’t do anything that stresses me."
You’re 11! What the fuck are you stressed out about. | | Anonymous, on May 15, 2009 wrote:
That Matheus boy is totally milking Jesus’ story about the birth thing.
| | | Next 30 comments > |
| |
