History of the Jewish Community in São Paulo, Brazil

The Jewish communities of São Paulo, Brazil, have been under the influences of many other religions present in the country. Their Jewishness is shown through different ways but as they are inserted in the Brazilian reality, the communities have been gaining different features that are only possible in this country, due to the influence of a doctrine called Kardecist Spiritism (founded by Allan Kardec in the nineteenth century) - defined as a doctrine based on the existence, demonstrations and teachings of spirits.

There are 60 thousand Jews living in São Paulo (city) according to the Jewish Federation of São Paulo and according to the 2010 Census there are almost 4 million Spiritists in the country. Many Jewish families (most of them Ashkenazi, conservative ones) also perform some spiritist rituals, such as incorporations.

The aim of this presentation is to show that in spite of those influences, the Jews in the country have found a way to maintain their Jewishness.