Universal Church of the Kingdom of God

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Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. An evangelistic church founded in Brazil in 1977 by Edir Macedo, called bishop. The church emphasizes faith healing, and evokes generous giving on the part of the faithful (estimated in 1995 at about $15 million a week). The church became publicly controversial in 1995 when, after a television attack was made on the Virgin Mary, the attorney-general in Brazil ordered an investigation of the church for alleged tax fraud and for alleged links with drug cartels.

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