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Although originally confined to the slave population, banned by the Catholic church, and even criminalized by some governments, candomblé thrived over four centuries, and expanded considerably since the end of slavery (mid- 1800s). It is now a major established religion, with followers from all social classes and tens of thousands of temples. In recent surveys, about 2 million Brazilians (1.5% of the total population) have declared candomblé as their religion. However, in Brazilian culture, religions are not seen as mutually exclusive, and many people of other faiths — up to 70 million, according to some Afro-Brazilian cultural organizations — participate in candomblé rituals, regularly or occasionally. Candomblé deities, rituals, and holidays are now an integral part of Brazilian folklore.
Candomblé may be called Macumba in some regions, notably Rio de Janeiro; however Macumba is also a distinct cult, more akin to European witchcraftEuropean Christians in the medieval era, some conservative Christians today, Neopagans and many African religions (past and present) believe that witchcraft is a form of genuine magic which can produce effects that are beyond the natural powers of man.. Candomblé should be distinguished from UmbandaOriginating in Brazil in the 1920s, Umbanda is a religion that blends Catholicism, Kardecist Spiritualism and Afro-Brazilian traditions. Umbanda is juxtaposed with Quimbanda and distinct from both Macumba and Candomble. New religious movements Religions o, a religion founded in the early 20th century19th century 20th century 21st century more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901- 2000 in the sense of the Gre by combining African elements with Kardecism; and from similar African-derived religions in other New WorldThe New World is one of the names used for the continents of North and South America and adjacent islands collectively, in use since the 16th century. The continents were new to the Europeans, who knew the world consisting only of Europe, Asia, and Africa countries, such as HaitiHaiti is a country situated on the western third of the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba; the Dominican Republic shares Hispaniola with Haiti. A former French colony, it was one of the first countries of the Americas, after the Unitan VoodooAlternate meaning: Voodoo (album For the military aircraft, see F-101 Voodoo. For the 3D graphics card, see 3dfx (the name of the manufacturer). The term Voodoo ( Vodun in Benin; also Vodou or other phonetically equivalent spellings in Haiti; Vudu in the, CubaAlternate meanings: see Cuba (disambiguation The Republic of Cuba is an archipelago in the northern Caribbean, in between the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. To the north are found the United States and the Bahamas, to the west Mn Santería, and Obeah, which developed independently of Candomblé and are virtually unknown in Brazil.