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Protestantism inPortugal has long been aminority religion. After theReformation, theInquisition and the Portuguese government's religious intolerance outlawed the practice of non-Catholic faiths in the country, and those who followed them could not practice it openly.
However, when theBritish began settling in Portugal in the 19th century they brought ProtestantChristian denominations with them. Most belonged to the AnglicanChurch of England, but others wereMethodists,Congregationalists,Baptists, andPresbyterians.
The establishment of aconstitutional monarchy in 1834 granted limited religious toleration to, and consequently led to the opening of an Anglican chapel inLisbon. A second chapel was opened in 1868. The Anglican mission coincided with the growing influence of theOld Catholic movement in Portugal. Congregations were created from Catholic priests andlaypeople who refused to accept the dogmas of theinfallibility anduniversal ordinary jurisdiction of thePope, as defined by theFirst Vatican Council in 1870. TheLusitanian Catholic Apostolic Evangelical Church was formed as a result in 1880, however laws still restricted the activities of non-Catholics.
By the early 1990s, only some 50,000 to 60,000Protestants lived in Portugal, less than 1 percent of the total population. The 1950s and 1960s saw the arrival ofPentecostals who increased in numbers more rapidly than the earlier arrivals did. All groups, however, were hampered by prohibitions and restrictions against the free exercise of their religions, especially missionary activities.
These restrictions were lifted after theRevolution of 1974. Theconstitution of 1976 guaranteesall religions the right to practice their faith. Non-Catholic groups came to be recognized as legal entities with the right to assemble. Portuguese who were both not Catholics and wereconscientious objectors had the right to apply for alternativemilitary service.
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The Lusitanian Catholic Apostolic Evangelical Church is the oldest protestant denomination in Portugal, and is a member church of theAnglican Communion and of thePorvoo Communion. In 2016, research published in theJournal of Anglican Studies, byCambridge University Press, reported that the church claims 5,000 total members.[1] In 2017,Growth and Decline in the Anglican Communion: 1980 to the Present, published byRoutledge, collected peer-reviewed research, edited by faculty atDurham University, reporting there were 2,700 Anglicans in Portugal, a decline from 4,500 in 1970.[2]
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Portugal is the oldest non-Catholic, non-Anglican church in Portugal.
The Christian Presbyterian Church in Portugal (Igreja Cristã Presbiteriana de Portugal or ICPP inPortuguese) is a smallReformed denomination with relationships withPresbyterian Church in America, thePresbyterian Church of Brazil, thePresbyterian Church in Ireland and theConservative Presbyterian Church in Brazil.[3][4] The denomination accepts thefive points of Calvinism, theWestminster Confession of Faith and itsshorter andlarger catechisms.[5][6]
The denomination was officially formed in 1992, but includes older churches such as the Independent Church inBarreiro (founded in 1955) and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Christ (founded in 1970) as well as an independent Presbyterian church inCampo de Ourique inLisbon, and by a church in northeastPorto planted by aBrazilian missionary.[7]
In 2014 the ICPP celebrated its 30th anniversary.[8]
