SÂO PAULO. Plans to open a temple dedicated to Lucifer near the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre, with a 5.5-metre-high statue of the devil, have caused a stir, as well as strong opposition from local authorities and alleged threats to the founders.
August 14, 2024 – 11:54
He sanctuary It has five hectares in a rural area of the municipality of Gravataiin the south of the country, and belongs to the New Order of Lucifer on Eartha movement of the Afro-Brazilian Quimbanda religion that groups together about 100 people.
The winged devil statuemade of cement and that weighs more than a tonis the largest image of Lucifer in Brazil, according to the founders of the temple.
The teacher Luke from Bara da Ruaone of the leaders of the group, explained to EFE that the space will be used to carry out spiritual retreats in which will delve into the study of demons.
“For us they are gods that Christian churches ended up demonizing because they were looking for an enemy, someone to blame for human failures,” said this 43-year-old resident of Gravataí, who added that the “Good and evil are within each one” and that they do not promote “a cult of evil”.
The installation of the sanctuary has caused a stir among the inhabitants of the municipality and social networks have been filled with hundreds of messages asking for “misericordia“or they insist that “Jesus is the way” in a Brazil with a Catholic majority.
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A court banned the inauguration of the temple
Amid the controversy, a court provisionally banned the inaugurationscheduled for early Wednesday morning, under penalty of a daily fine of 50,000 reais (about 9,000 dollars) following a request from the Gravataí City Council.
The court decision was based on the lack of operating permits for the place and also cited the “insecurity generated by the great impact” of the news.
Without giving up on inaugurating the temple later, Master Lukas de Bará recalled that there are coming municipal elections in Brazil and that, due to the weight of evangelical churches in society, no politician wants to have them as an enemy.
Undated photograph provided by the New Order of Lucifer on Earth shrine showing the statue of Lucifer in the municipality of Gravataí, in southern Brazil.
Victims of religious intolerance?
The group also reported having received threats and hate messages broadcast on social media and by telephone, and was forced to keep the location of the sanctuary secret and hire a private security company to ensure its protection.
“We are being victims of religious intolerance“Jesus’ message is one of love for people, but what we have seen from his worshippers is quite the opposite,” said the founder.
