Brazil

About 2/3 of the population of Brazil is Catholic.  The Portuguese Jesuits originally brought Catholicism to Brazil in 1549.  Brazil is home to the Basilica of the National Shrine of our Lady of Aparecida.  It is the second largest Basilica in the world. 

The Society of Jesus played a very important role in forming Brazil's religious identity until the 18th century.  In recent decades, however, Brazil has seen a rise in Protestantism.  From 1940-2010, the percentage of Roman Catholics fell from 95% to 64.6%.  Protestant denomoniations rose from 2.6% to 22.2%.