In 2003, the then governor Rosinha Garotinho created intense controversy among educators, religious and intellectual when he decided to introduce compulsory religious education in public schools. Now is the time for the elected mayor of Rio, Eduardo Paes (PMDB) mess with the nest, which meets with resistance from educators.

Eduardo Paes ratified the campaign commitment to introduce religion classes to municipal schools, involving more than 1000 schools and about 400,000 students.

The elected mayor announced that the discipline will be implemented in phases and ensured that the lessons are optional. "During the election process, I had already made this commitment and this is a commitment I intend to comply," he said Paes. He also announced that the City will establish partnerships with churches and religious organizations that operate in the social area.

The adoption of religious education in public schools educators and religious divides. The pastor Odalírio Luis da Costa, of the Congregational Church of Acari, a suburb of Rio, approving the measure. "It will generate discussion in the classroom and at home with parents, and arouse curiosity among students about religion, whatever it is," he believes.

For the evangelical pastor, religious education in schools also allow students to have contact with the creationist theory. "Schools teach that man came from monkey. With the lessons of religion, the children will know that man came from God, "opines. Have the teacher Estela Scheinvar, School of Teacher Education at the State University of Rio de Janeiro, the inclusion of discipline in public schools goes against old claims of society to education in Brazil. "Since the 1920s, has always sought to free education, universal and secular (nonreligious)," he recalls. The lack of teachers and infrastructure in public schools are appointed by Estela barriers to spread the catechism. "The contents are religious ways of demarcating spaces for political control. The largest party in Congress is formed by religious groups, "he criticizes.

Currently, over 500 teachers of religious education, all gazetted and necessarily linked to certain religious institutions, working in state of Rio de Janeiro. For evangelicals, who are signed up organizations like the Order of the Evangelical Ministers of Brazil (Omeb). Classes are confessional character and plural, proselytizing is forbidden. Upon registration, the student responsible for the family tell the religious option. Classes are separated by religion, and currently include, in addition to the evangelicals, Catholics, Spiritualists. The teaching of african-Brazilian religions should be implemented soon, and the number of teachers hired meets fixed percentage in research on the religious denominations of pupils