It's also home to a different kind of church — located on its beachfront suburbs along the Atlantic coast near a fishing town known for some of the world's largest waves. Parishioners attend in boardshorts, T-shirts, flip flops — even barefoot.

They surf before they worship.

Surf Church was established by a Brazilian-born Portuguese surfer and ordained Baptist pastor to spread the Gospel in a once-devoutly Catholic country — and top surfing destination — where about half of young people today say they have no religion.

In less than a decade, it has grown from a few families to dozens of parishioners representing more than a dozen nationalities from across the world. Their motto: " We love waves. We love Jesus."

"When you're waiting for the right wave it's the calm before the swell, and that's a peaceful moment that sometimes is seconds, sometimes minutes," said the Rev. Samuel Cianelli, Surf Church's pastor. "This peaceful moment is, for me, my deepest connection with God." Continue reading