Evangelical Christian churches are luring Brazilians away from Roman Catholicism, the dominant religion in Brazil. In 1950, 94 percent of Brazilians said they were Catholic, but that number fell steadily to 74 percent by 2000.

The New York Times article mentions several churches, among which Renascer/Reborn in Christ — whose leaders are facing fraud, larceny, tax evasion and money laundering charges.

Fire department officials in Sao Paulo sorted through tons of debris Monday to determine what caused the roof of an evangelical church packed with worshipers to collapse just as evening service ended, with the toll in the disaster climbing to nine dead and 113 injured.

The church has also been plagued by scandal. Husband and wife founders Estevam and Sonia Hernandes, now living in the U.S., have been charged by Brazilian officials in connection with alleged fraud and money laundering. [video]

Brazil says it has temporarily suspended its request for the United States to extradite two leaders of an evangelical church to face money laundering charges.

The couple’s attorneys say money laundering is not covered by the Brazil-U.S. extradition treaty.

A husband and wife who lead one of Brazil’s largest evangelical churches were sentenced to nearly five months in prison Friday after pleading guilty to smuggling more than $56,000 into the United States hidden in luggage, a child’s backpack and a Bible case.

A Brazilian couple wanted back home for embezzlement after building an evangelical empire with hundreds of thousands of followers and 1,200 temples face charges of cash-smuggling in a Miami court.

All told, American authorities seized $56,467 that the couple and other family members had hidden on their bodies and in luggage, according to the United States indictment. Brazilian authorities, who have charged them with money laundering and fraud, are seeking their extradition.

The hip Renascer — Reborn in Christ Church — draws well-heeled youths and their parents into the fold. Authorities call it a criminal enterprise.

The Hernandeses, who lead the Igreja Apostolica Renascer em Cristo (Reborn in Christ Church), are two of the most powerful and controversial religious leaders in Brazil, where the evangelical church grows bigger every day. They are also two of Brazil’s most wanted evangelicals, currently under house arrest in Miami. They will appear in court in the United States this month accused of trying to smuggle $56 467 in cash through Miami airport.

Estevam Hernandes Filho and Sonia Moraes Hernandes, the founders of the Reborn in Christ Church, stared stoically as Magistrate Judge Chris McAliley asked if they understood the charges against them and as their lawyers entered pleas on their behalf.

A U.S. grand jury has returned an indictment against a couple who lead a large Brazilian evangelical church, accusing them of illegally smuggling money into the United States and making false statements.

A judge has delayed arraignment until next month for the founders of a prominent Brazilian evangelical church who are accused of attempting to smuggle more than $56,000 into the United States.

Brazil has requested the United States extradite two leaders of an evangelical church who allegedly used their followers’ donations to buy mansions, a horse farm and apartments in Brazil and the U.S., the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

The husband-and-wife leaders of a Brazilian mega-church are in U.S. custody after their arrest in Miami on charges of smuggling currency.

Brazilian prosecutors asked their government Thursday to request the extradition of two prominent evangelical church leaders arrested in Miami this week on money smuggling charges.

The arrest in Miami of a Brazilian couple charged with money smuggling has reignited a controversy surrounding Brazil’s evangelical Protestant churches.