The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus or IURD) is one of the largest and strongest Neo-Pentecostal churches in Brazil with global reach. Founded by Bishop Edir Bezerra Macedo and two other pastors in 1977, the church encompasses 8 million members in over 150 countries, television networks (including the second largest in Brazil), radio stations, newspapers, a publishing house, a record company, and numerous other business enterprises both in Brazil and elsewhere.
Sources:
Christine A. Gustafson, “Faith-State Relations in Brazil: What Does Religious Competition Mean for Democracy?” Religion and Politics in a Global Society, eds. Paul Christopher Manuel, Alynna Lyon, and Clyde Wilcox (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2013), pp. 113-138.
Clara Mafra, Claudia Swatowiski, and Camila Sampaio, “Edir Macedo’s Pastoral Project: A Globally Integrated Pentecostal Network,” The Diaspora of Brazilian Religions, eds. Christina Rocha and Manuel A. Vásquez (Leiden: Brill, 2013), pp. 45-67.
Manuel A. Vásquez and Christina Rocha, “Introduction: Brazil in the New Global Cartography of Religion” The Diaspora of Brazilian Religions, eds. Christina Rocha and Manuel A. Vásquez (Leiden: Brill, 2013), pp. 1-42.