The idea of the mobile individual set free from the immutable ties of the traditional society was further strengthened by new religious doctrines. Roman Catholicism had been the social cement of the outgoing order, and the message of the Protestant missionary worked to loosen its bonds. As one observer noted in 1856, ‘civil and social relationships would be broken up’ if the missionary were successful. Protestantism in Brazil did not particularly contribute, as it may have done in other times and places, to the growth of capitalism through new ideas on interest and usury, novel views of vocation, or the separation of business life from religious belief. But Protestantism, as it was preached in Brazil, emphasized individualism at the very time other currents were moving in the same direction. This was its major significance.

In addition, Protestantism contributed to the progressive secularization of society so essential to the process of modern change. The very presence of Protestants introduced an element into the social system which was not harmonious with the view of religion as the bulwark of the social order. The latter was seriously weakened once it could no longer rely on a universally shared belief in a faith which sanctioned that order. As we have noted, the idea of a secular state grew steadily in Brazil, culminating in the republic organized in 1889. Protestantism was a small but significant force toward this transformation.

Protestantism was spread in Brazil by missionaries of various nationalities. The most important numerically were the Americans, but not only were the British the first to begin missionary activity there, but they greatly influenced its direction and emphases.