Abstract
ABSTRACT The Portuguese policies of colonisation and Christianisation were closely linked. In 1549, the Portuguese monarchy adopted Catholicism as the official religion of the colonial administration and requested that the Society of Jesus establish the Catholic faith among the indigenous people in Brazil. The Jesuits established catechesis, founded the first schools and exercised a long-lasting hegemony on Brazilian education (1549–1759). The Ratio Studiorum was the uniform method adopted worldwide by the Jesuits. However, this article shows that improvisations were employed to convert the entire population to Christianity. The dialectical exchange between imposition and adaptation had lasting repercussions on Brazilian culture. In addition, the following consequences should be noted: (1) currently, Brazil is the country with the largest Catholic population in the world; (2) Christianity has had a lasting influence on pedagogical thinking in Brazil.
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