Paulo Guedes, Mr Bolsonaro\u2019s economy minister, was spotted in Congress recently wearing a bracelet with a Bible verse given to him by an evangelical pastor. \u201cThese guys support the president,\u201d he beamed. Mr Guedes is leading his own crusade to bring the free-market economics he learnt from Milton Friedman in Chicago to his homeland. The Universal Church\u2019s message that state handouts are no way to live is music to his ears.<\/p>\n
The Sunday service featured on its giant screens the story of a believer who raised himself from scavenging on a rubbish dump at the age of 17 to the ranks of the bourgeoisie. Now a successful lawyer and the proud owner of three apartments, he was invited on stage by Mr Macedo to explain how his devotion to the church had transformed his life. His strict adherence to a rule that believers tithe one-tenth of their income to the church \u2014 even when eking out an existence on a rubbish dump \u2014 was emphasised repeatedly.<\/p>\n
Mr Mendon\u00e7a says the message is an entrepreneurial one. \u201cThe same things you hear at a seminar for people starting their own business \u2014 the need to believe in your potential and in what you do, to be creative and to take risks \u2014 are exactly the same\u201d as the advice in church, he says.<\/p>\n
The formula has worked for Mr Macedo. His personal wealth has been estimated by Forbes magazine at $1.1bn, making him one of the world\u2019s richest religious leaders.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n Michael Stott: The values promoted by Brazil\u2019s Universal Church of the Kingdom of God and its evangelical siblings are not just reshaping Brazil\u2019s religious beliefs but also its politicshttps:\/\/t.co\/XGrhOlAdNB<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) December 16, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n