Religião e cultura local: estudo de dois grupos espíritas potiguares

The subject of this research is the spiritual religious field, connected with the local cultural perspectives. Its basis is the analysis of two spiritual groups settled in Natal/RN: The Spiritual Group Evangelho no Lar and the Spiritual Center Garimpeiros da Luz . These two groups represent a point of convergence of several sectors of this religion, either through its insertion in the local sphere or in contact to nationally influent leaders, like the mediums Francisco Cândido Xavier and Divaldo Pereira Franco. Then, it aims to reach the potiguar singularities in their spiritualism approaches, looking for an analyses to possible connections between local values and themes from the spiritualism largely developed in Brazil. So, its objective is to act in the scope of influence, references, representations and adaptive practices in a local context, and they signalize special practices . The approaches until now developed refer only to the living of a Brazilian spiritualism, perfectly developed in contact with the catholic substrate, but there s still a gap about the local observation, with its peculiarities, which its research aims to disclosure. The option for a qualitative approach, in perfect relationship with the nature of the questions which were made was considered as an appropriate way to guide the study. To reach this, it will be made an ethnography of the studied groups, not only in the use of open interviews with its members but also in the contact and observation of its religious behavior, for example: meeting for studies of the doctrine, mediunic meetings, public lectures, helping the public in general. As results of this research we can point to the delimitation of local cultural references, which are undeniable, in relation to the identification of RN personalities who are considered coordinators or active spirits in the work performed by the groups. Thus, Auta de Souza, poetess and woman of great religiosity, Augusto Severo de Albuquerque Maranhão, martyr of the aeronautics, Father João Maria, object of popular devotion and Abdias Antônio de Oliveira, ex president of the Spiritual Federation of RN, present themselves as spiritual beings who lead the adaptability to the local context. In such a context, we have to point out the work of mediums, who, having a specific charisma, interacted with the groups in the establishment of these cultural bridges already made in their own contexts (national level), through the work equally possible to be locally reproduced. This and other facts, point out to perspectives of cultural circularity , including referring to a greater linking to sub layers in a true zone that converges and has circulation between an erudite spiritualism with another one, turned to the incorporation of local and popular elements

Os trabalhos de amor e outras mandingas: A experiência mágico-religiosa em terreiros de umbanda

The following text addresses the magical-religious experience carried on by many individuals when they seek to solve their love, financial and health problems by means of white magic spells done by pais-de-santo e mães-de-santo (saint s father and saint s mother) from umbanda. The rites through which this seek can be detected are free love spells, troublesolving spells, and healing spell. The concept of experience, here understood as the thing which gives sense to the sense, has been the main guiding idea of the reflections here enclosed. People who seek the umbandista spells as a way of solving their daily afflictions have the opportunity of living a rich magical-religious experience in which several dimensions intersect. Among these dimensions I decided to study the performance, the knowhow and the subjetivity. Each one gave rise to the opportunity of studying a range of other themes, such as the corporeity, the gestuality, vocality, the world knowledge, the science, the secret, the emotions and the moral. The ethnographic research was carried on in the yards which are named after Dona Luiza, Pai Gledson, Pai Salviano and Dona Terezinha umbanda, all of them situated in the town of Limoeiro do Norte, Ceará

A reestruturação sócio-religiosa em Sergipe, no final do século XVIII

The issues surrounding the religious have been given greater importance in scientific discussions and the media. Discussions on religion and religiosity have become widespread as a means for construction of social representations, both as individual levels, in addition, in the collectivity. This work deals with the construction of the order of Jesus, missionaries and settlers of the projects that marked the presence of the Jesuit missionaries, from colonization to the religious restructuring imposed after the expulsion of the Jesuit Order in Sergipe. Expulsion is what happened in the midst of political and administrative changes made by the Portuguese government in the mid-eighteenth century, which had representation at the Marquis of Pombal its creator. Understanding the religious and social restructuring, designed here in the practices and representations of popular and official. This restructuring has had on the religious brotherhoods, religious orders and other representations, an important symbolic presence in the spaces sociorreligiosos linked to Catholic practices in Sergipe. Representation such that officially came into the vicars pasted their legal representatives, in the maintenance of religious practices in the boroughs and cities Sergipe

Os filhos evangélicos do novo caldeirão do diabo: a conversão religiosa na penitenciária de alcaçuz

The theme of the research is inserted at a field of intersection between the Sociology of Religion and Sociology of Violence, having as the general objective study the sociological meaning of the conversion of prisoners that lives at the biggest prison (Prison of Alcaçuz) of Rio Grande do Norte to the evangelical churches. The research is justified, because Brazil shelter the fourth greater arrested population arrested of the world, with projections indicating that it can turn the greatest in 2034. Besides, this study about religious conversion of prisoners to the Social Sciences is too important, because is a theme little developed in Brazil and deserves attention, one time that as the arrested people as the evangelicals are in expansion in our country. Starting from the precedent observations, we guide ourselves by the following problematic of research: the religious practice in Alcaçuz presents a mere instrumental perspective, where the actions of prisoners converted was on purpose oriented to conquest material or symbolic privileges; or purely religious, where seek a moral renovation? To develop the work, the scientific methodology adopted was exploratory and explanatory, using the Goffman´s theory about total institutions and presentation of self, and Blumer´s doctrine relating to Symbolic Interacionism and the Story life method, besides considerations about evangelical religion. Having this theoretical basis, was accomplished the Field research, when were made interviews and applied questionnaires to 11 Jailer Agents, 31 prisoners, Director and Vice-Dictor (in November, 2011), the coordinator of social projects of the prison and the coordinator of evangelization at the prisons in Rio Grande do Norte. As results, it was seeing in Alcaçuz that the prisoners can be separated in two groups: the one of Pavilions and other one of the Medical Section. The Pavilions are branded for managerial and structural problems, where are found idle prisoners in collective cells and with a historical of escaping attempts, mutinies and murders. The Medical Section has some individual cells or destined for two people, besides few collective also, and the prisoners work and have a more disciplined behavior, there isn t escapes or rebellions and that, for these reasons end for have more confidence from the Administration. About the presence of evangelical prisoners, most are at Medical Section, where exist a specific place to the cults (what doesn t at Pavilions). At the end, the conclusion is that the prisoner that says himself evangelical in Alcaçuz, although can be seeing with distrust about your real conversion, he gets win a trust vote and until the opposite being demonstrated in other words, that he is not hiding himself behind the bible to divert the vigilance of Direction and practice disciplinary faults without make any suspicions, is treated with more respect and has more opportunities live at Medical Section; have work, that most of times is paid and guarantee the homologation of your payment of penalty with work, besides other benefits, diminishing his time in jail

Os dias são maus : o ensino religioso cristão em dias pós-modernos o desafio de fazer crer perante a cultura da incredulidade

This paper adopts the assumption that religion continues to be a major highlight in the dimension of the contemporary world - characterized by pluralism, the ideas of tolerance and freedom. But for certain streams of Christianity, the postmodern culture seems to be characterized as a highly damaging to their doctrines and principles, since this religious matrix carries a truth claim that would support all its significance, its definition values and their dissemination effort ( evangelism ). This is not to say that Christianity is the only religion that claims to the truth, which would be a gross mistake. Now, religion has been reputed as a phenomenon doomed to disappear, according to the " ideology " of Modernity, given the idea that scientific development would lead us inevitably to the statement that religion was merely a social institution based in the superstition, in fantasy, the imaginary and therefore had nothing "real " unless its existence as an institution capable of aggregating society (give it cohesion), provide values and meaning to different ontological anxieties and doubts of humankind. In the contemporary scenario - seeded by modernity - as Christian ideas, doctrines and principles are in harmony or conflict with postmodernity? These are our starting questions and issues that we intend to stop and reflect. From the assumption that the religious phenomenon has great force in the present day, this research aims to perform central analysis of how religious education, a Protestant denomination specific, harmonizes or clashes with the ideology or ideas more general and emphatic that we can observe in the western world is presented to us from the diagnoses made by the contemporary authors who debate about postmodernism and postmodernity, notably David Harvey, Jean - François Lyotard, Bauman Zygmunt and Fredric Jameson