Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus
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| Official name: |
Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (German translation of the group) |
| Management: | "Bishop" Edir Macedo |
| Membership: | no |
| Regional state associations: |
in all states of Brazil |
| Local communities: | |
| Parishioners: | over 1 million, according to self-reported 8 million |
| Share of the total population: |
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| Seat: | Rio de Janeiro , Brazil |
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| Training center for pastors : |
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The Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus (IURD), referred to in Germany as the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God , the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God or the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God and on the German-speaking Internet and on advertising flyers as the “ Aid Center UKRG eV ”, is a neo structured as a commercial enterprise -charismatic denomination of the Pentecostal movement with headquarters in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil. It was founded in 1977 by the self-proclaimed Bishop Edir Macedo , a former lottery employee who is now one of the richest entrepreneurs in Brazil. Its German headquarters are in the New Nazareth Church on Leopoldplatz in Berlin-Wedding .
history
In July 1977 the church was founded in Rio de Janeiro by Edir Macedo Bezerra and his brother-in-law Romildo Ribeiro Soares, the current leader of the Iglesia Internacional de la Gracia de Dios (International Church by God's Grace). Both originally belonged to the Catholic Church and received their first Pentecostal teachings from the Igreja de Nova Vida (Church of New Life), which is also part of Neopentecostalism . The church founded its first radio station as early as 1984, in 1989 Edir Macedo bought the radio and television network Rede Record for 45 million US dollars and in 2000 Liberty Radio England was bought by the IURD .
Today the church owns more than 76 AM and FM radio stations covering 75% of the national territory, plus over 20 TV channels and over 100 broadcasters.
The theology of the IURD
The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God is a modern church that has similar beliefs as other evangelical and Pentecostal churches . Her teaching is close to the gospel of prosperity and is characterized, among other things, by rousing sermons, dance, music, singing, exorcism , miraculous healing , a high need for donations, modern management and marketing . Homosexuality is rejected as well as premarital intercourse, alcohol and drug use, but unlike other evangelical churches, women are allowed to use make-up and there are no strict dress codes. Contraception and u. U. also abortion is not entirely outlawed. The services are held in church buildings called "Templo", but also in rededicated halls (e.g. former cinema palaces), up to four times a day every weekday. The sermons have a different theme each day, conveying illness, family planning, spiritual healing or economic success to the believers. With the neo-Pentecostal movement, a new theology spreads, the “ theology of wealth ” or the gospel of prosperity . Material wealth is interpreted as a sign of God's love. This means that the more a believer donates to the church, the greater the likelihood that God will love him and thereby experience material wealth himself. If economic success does not materialize, it is not the believer's fault alone, but that of the demons with whom the believer may be possessed . So it is also to be understood that at the beginning of all mass meetings of the IURD the calls “Sai, Sai, Sai!” (Go out, go out!) Can be heard and individual, mostly women, are asked to come forward and by the to report positive consequences of the expulsion of their demons. Devil possession is also seen as a cause of illness, drug use, and many other personal problems.
Popular miracle drugs are e.g. B.
- Consecrated olive oil from the Garden of Gethsemane
- consecrated water from the Jordan
- consecrated cloths from the Holy Land
- Consecrated rose of Sharon , some plant species from the Middle East and other regions designated as such
- Sand from the Sea of Galilee
- consecrated bread
- water consecrated by radio or television
- Donate money; "Money is the same for the Church as blood is for the body" (Bishop Macedo)
In addition to the so-called “strong prayer”, these aids play a role in the healing of the sick by the pastors, mostly with the help of the assembled congregation.
The Church as a Multinational Company
Today the church has around 6 million members worldwide, 1,873 million of them in Brazil (8 million according to its own information). There are around 8,000 parishes in over 100 countries around the world, with these being particularly numerous in lusophone countries. Various companies, mostly radio (e.g. Liberty Radio ) and TV stations (e.g. Rede Record , Pare de sufrir ), belong to it as well as tourism companies, publishers for books, newspapers and music CDs and DVDs. Their influence extends into politics: Lula's vice- president José Alencar (ex-PL) was a member of the Partido Republicano Brasileiro , the political arm of the IURD.
The headquarters are in the Avenida Dom Hélder Câmara (formerly Avenida Suburbana) in the Del Castilho district in Rio de Janeiro . The Catedral Mundial da Fé ("World Cathedral of Faith") or the Templo da Glória do Novo Israel or just the main temple measures 45,000 m², with the outdoor areas and its own attached helipad even 72,000 m². It can hold up to 14,000 believers. The construction is said to have cost 200 million US dollars. Owning real estate alone is likely to be worth many millions of US dollars. The church buildings maintained by the religious community include the building of the former Cine Trocadero cinema in the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo, which is now used as a church .
The church requires its members to donate at least the 10th part of their income, the tithe . This accumulates large amounts of money. In addition, church visitors are forced to make additional "voluntary" donations during services.
The Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus is believed to have annual revenues of $ 1.4 billion in Brazil alone.
Templo de Salomão
In 2014, a 55-meter-high replica of the Temple of Solomon was inaugurated in São Paulo on behalf of the “Universal Church of the Kingdom of God” . Representatives of the Jewish community, Head of State Dilma Rousseff and leading politicians of the country attended the inauguration of the temple .
Links in organized crime
More recently, former fighters from favela gangs such as B. the Amigos dos Amigos as a preacher of the IURD or other Pentecostal sects. The fighters are z. B. specifically recruited after injuries, they are promised "spiritual support" by the church. The former criminals claim to have renounced the violence, but the connections to the underworld still exist. Some gangs are now demanding that favela residents adhere to a strictly Christian way of life.
Conflicts with the judiciary
In 2009, Edir Macedo and nine other suspects were charged by the Brazilian judiciary with money laundering , tax evasion , embezzlement of donations, fraud and the formation of a criminal organization . These charges were dropped in 2010, but resumed in 2011 for money laundering and illegal currency transfers. Since large sums of money were also transferred to tax havens via US financial firms, the US tax authorities are also involved in investigations. In January 2013 the government of Uruguay initiated an investigation into the financial conduct of the major evangelical churches IURD and " Dios es Amor ". In 2017, investigations began in Portugal on allegations that she was involved in illegal adoptions, in which the children were allegedly stolen from their parents and taken overseas.
The Igreja Universal in Germany
In Germany, the religious community is active as a registered association under the name Hilfszentrum UKRG eV . Through mobile pastors, church services can be organized on demand throughout Germany. The pastors are mostly of Brazilian or Brazilian origin and carry out the cult primarily in the Portuguese language. Here, direct reference is made to the need for donations of money and material in any amount. Suitable Bible passages paired with an authoritarian preaching style serve as the basis for a lively flow of money. Little consideration is given to the individual needs of believers.
classification
Reinhard Hempelmann from the Evangelical Central Office for Weltanschauungsfragen (EZW) told the evangelical Christian media magazine pro in 2018 that the IURD is an influential religious community that should be understood against the background of the spread of neo-Pentecostalism and neo-Pentecostalism in the country be.
Theologically, Hempelmann sees a great deal of closeness to the Word of Faith Movement . The preaching of the gospel of prosperity and health, the demonization of illness, the legal understanding of tithing, and the rituals of healing and prosperity were part of the practice of the Church. Poverty is seen as a result of "disobedience". The spread of the Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus had "been accompanied by scandals and resignations for decades," said Hempelmann.
The church has been repeatedly accused of donating funds intended for social projects being spent on private luxury items such as cars, property and jewels.
Audio
- Brazilian Free Church in Berlin “Money is the cornerstone of God's work” , by Peter B. Schumann , Deutschlandfunk Kultur October 6, 2019
swell
- Phillip Berryman (translation: Carola Albrechts / jüvo): The arrival of the evangelical age . In: Latin American News Issue 241/242 - July / August. Accessed February 3, 2013 ( online )
- Ulla Ebner: Miraculous Healings and Exorcisms - Brazil's Evangelical Pentecostal Churches . In: OE1 / ORF of: April 16, 2010. Accessed on February 3, 2013 ( online )
- Christiane Gräfe: The modern missionaries . In: Zeit-Online of March 16, 2006. Retrieved on February 3, 2013 ( online )
- Klaus Hart - Brasilientexte different editions. Universal Church of the Kingdom of God.Retrieved February 3, 2013 online
- Lukas Lingenthal: The Pentecostal Movement in Brazil: Churches, Companies and Parties . In: KAS - Foreign Information, 1 | 2012. Accessed February 3, 2013 ( online )
- Sect Advice Retrieved on February 3, 2013 ( online )
- Soldier of god . In: Der Spiegel . No. 47 , 1995, p. 222 ( online ). Accessed: February 3, 2013.
- Mareile Seeber-Tegethoff: On the great success of the "Igreja Universal" in Brazil in Anthropos, Vol. 93/1998, 1–3, 89–99.
- Mareile Seeber-Tegethoff: A Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus - produto bem sucedido da cultura brasileira? To estudo antropolόgico. in Ciência & Tropico Vol. 25/1997, 2, 237-259.
Web links
- Help center UKRG
- Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus
- The Temple of Solomon in São Paulo (Portuguese)
- A new “Kingdom of God” in Brazil
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b https://www.tagesspiegel.de/themen/reportage/favela-gangster-haben-radISCHE-christen-brasilianischer-deal-mit-jesus/12311086.html
- ↑ The Richest Pastors In Brazil by Anderson Antunes Forbes January 17, 2013
- ↑ Controversial Evangelicals in Wedding How the “Universal Church” wants to buy in Berlin , Tagesspiegel from August 9, 2019, accessed on August 10, 2019
- ↑ Brazilian Free Church in Berlin "Money is the cornerstone in God's work" , by Peter B. Schumann Deutschlandfunk Kultur October 6, 2019
- ^ The Pentecostal Movement in Brazil from: KAS - Auslandsinformationen Article by Lukas Lingenthal. Retrieved February 3, 2013
- ^ Edir Macedo's website, "Abortion: Crimes Against Whom?" (Port.) Retrieved May 9, 2013
- ↑ http : // latein Amerika-nachrichten.de/?aaartikel=die-ankunft-des-evangelISCHE-zeitalters
- ↑ Religious Bodies of the World (English) Retrieved May 9, 2013
- ↑ 2010 census , (Portuguese) quoted from IBGE data , accessed on May 9, 2013
- ↑ Controversial Evangelicals in Wedding How the “Universal Church” wants to buy in Berlin , Tagesspiegel August 9, 2019
- ↑ http://infocatolica.com/blog/infories.php/0908231224-datos-y-cifras-de-la-iglesia
- ↑ Klaus Hart : Solomon's Temple in São Paulo. In: Jüdische Allgemeine . February 19, 2015, accessed August 28, 2018 .
- ↑ Rede Globo, updated September 23, 2011 (port.) Retrieved May 9, 2013
- ^ João Carlos Schmidt: Trial against Edir Macedo and other leaders of the "Universal Church of the Kingdom of God" . In: Evangelical Central Office for Weltanschauungsfragen (Hrsg.): Materialdienst. Journal for questions of religion and belief . tape 73 , no. 3 , 2010, ISSN 0721-2402 , p. 112–113 ( online [PDF; accessed January 5, 2016]).
- ↑ Investigations against church mafia . In: Der Spiegel . No. 39 , 2011, p. 89 ( online ).
- ↑ Controlarán a iglesias y grandes ONG From: EL Pais (Uruguay) (in Spanish) Retrieved February 3, 2013
- ↑ Church did Claims demons cause headaches gets Belfast planning permission , Andrew Madden, Belfast Telegraph , May 14 2018
- ↑ a b Money, Power, Media: The Empire of the Self-Appointed Bishop of the “Universal Church”. Retrieved July 25, 2019 .
- ^ Brazil charges church leaders with embezzling millions from poor - World news - The Guardian