Serra Closes Lead in Brazil Race Wooing Religious Vote

Brazilian presidential candidate Jose Serra is targeting religious voters as he closes a 14-percentage point gap with Dilma Rousseff ahead of a runoff election later this month.

While Brazil is famous for skimpy bikinis and naked carnival dancers, church attendance and faith-based voting are on the rise in Latin America’s biggest economy. The number of Brazilians who identify themselves as evangelical Christians has increased to 24 percent this year from 19 percent in 2002, when President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was elected, according to Sao Paulo-based polling firm Datafolha. Both candidates are courting this growing constituency by visiting churches and canvassing for votes with religious leaders.