Catholic Church - Rede Católica de Rádio (RCR)

The history of catholic broadcasting in Brazil dates back to the 1940s with the concession of Rádio Excelsior of Salvador, during Getúlio Vargas’ government. Other pioneer catholic radios are Legendária, founded in Lapa (Paraná state), in 1950, and Rádio Aparecida, founded in 1951. The expansion of the medium’s usage by the church took place after the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), which, among other changes, promoted liturgical changes in an attempt to bring their members closer to the church (such as the authorization for the celebration of masses in vernacular languages and the acceptance of popular musical rythms) and encouraged the appropriation of mass communication media.

The Council came as a response to a decline in the church’s role in the collective organization of life and to religious pluralisms, with the competition of other denominations, like pentecostal churches. Thus the catholic radios, like many other commercial radio stations, developed during the Military Dictatorship (1964-1985), a development period for the cultural industry in Brazil and of national communication networks, after the implementation of a capitalist modernization project by the military regime. After the 1990s, the church’s communication strategies expanded and began encompassing TV channels, large events hosted by singer priests, internet portals and social media interaction. Many analysts believe the church’s investments in catholic communications grew as a consequence of the growth of pentecostal churches in Brazil.

The Catholic Church was hegemonic in Brazil until the late 20th century (it amounted to 92% of the population in 1970), but has been losing members in the last decades, specially to evangelical churches of pentecostal or neopentecostal influence – churches with a strong belief in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and its earthly manifestation. The number of people who declare themselves atheists or without religion has grown as well. In 2010, the number of catholics was around 123 million, or 64.6% of the population, while evangelicals had raised their numbers to 42 million people, or 22.1% of the population. Those without religion and atheists amounted to 15.3 million people or 8% of the population.

In this context, the unifying of catholic radio stations began in 1976, with the creation of UNDA-BR (Catholic Radiobroadcast Union of Brazil), connected to the UNDA-AL (Latin America) and UNDA world, founded in Germany in 1928 as a lay association officially recognized by the Catholic Church. In 1994 some radio networks connected to UNDA founded the Rede Católica de Rádio (RCR), an association for programming sharing. Since then, seven radio networks have been sharing mostly news programs (see RCR vehicle profile). With the process of technological convergence, UNDA-BR was absorved in 2001 by Signis Brasil (Catholic Communication Association), a wider association which encompasses not only radio stations, but all catholic media associations. Signis is a fusion of the words sign and ignis (latin for fire), in a reference to the Holy Spirit (an idea related to evangelical pentecostalism) in connection with media. In Brazil, the articulation was made by Don Orani Tempesta, then communications referee at CNBB (Brazilian National Bishops Conference).

Signis Brasil shares the same structure with Rede Católica de Rádio (RCR), based in the city of São Paulo. While RCR shares its programming, Signis manages technological, political and formative aspects. In 1996, UNDA created the Microfone de Prata (Silver Mic) Prize, awarded to radio programs in three categories: journalism, religious and entertainment shows. In 2012 the prize was incorporated by CNBB and became Troféu Signis Brasil, awarded to different media segments. Signis and RCR also promote media formation courses, academic seminars intended to debate the sector and take part in ExpoCatólica, religious products businesses fair.

These associations’s goal – RCR, UNDA, Signis, among others – is sharing content and also looking for solutions regarding sustainability, management and technical issues, such as, currently, the migration from AM to FM. This doesn’t mean there is no competition between catholic radio stations and TV channels, which still compete for public concessions and affiliates for the expansion of networks, resources and audience. It also doesn’t mean there is a unification of catholic trends through their mass communication media, nor a unique view on what are their objectives.

Even though, unlike protestant churches, the Catholic Church is centralized, there are many different movements and theological, social and political conceptions within it – such as the Opus Dei, the Focolare, Liberation Theology, Charismatic Renewal, Heralds of the Gospel, Toca de Assis, and many others – which make use of communication media in their preaching and social action strategies.