Interestingly, a significant number of favela residents report their religion to be 'a mixture' of different influences, evidence of a characteristically Brazilian 'syncretism'. Favelas are a melting pot of many different cultures which means that the religious pillars that support them have tended to become a conglomeration of many different beliefs and ideas.

It appears that what has been inherited from forefathers is more the importance of 'faith' and 'belief' than dogmatic attachment to a single religious school - Another significant factor that contributed to the high level of faith in favelas is that during the 1940s a number of religious groups set up agencies and organizations to improve living conditions in the favelas, such as the Fundação Leão XIII (1947) (Leo XIII Foundation)and the Cruzada São Sebastião (1955) (San Sebastian Crusade).