A Quaest poll commissioned by O GLOBO and TV Globo revealed that 79% of Brazilian voters said the political opinion of a leader from their religion does not influence their choice for president. The survey interviewed voters across the country last week and has a margin of error of two percentage points.
Another 10% of respondents said the opinion of these religious leaders "influences a lot" their voting decision, while 8% said it "influences a little." Only 2% of voters surveyed said they do not have a religious leader, and 1% did not know or did not answer.
According to the survey, Catholics and Evangelicals denied being influenced by their religious leaders in their voting decision in similar proportions. The survey breakdown also considered variables such as income and education of respondents, in addition to religion.
The result contrasts with the common perception that religious leaders have strong political mobilization power in Brazil, especially among Evangelicals, whose support for specific candidates has been frequently cited in recent electoral contests.
