The Psychology of Religion in Brazil

Abstract

Religiousness is an important aspect of the formation of Brazilian subjectivity. This raises the issue to be addressed in this article—the issue of the place of the psychology of religion in Brazil. This text presents the psychology of religion in Brazil based on three sources of information: the activities of the Psychology & Religion Working Group, a look at the postgraduate programs that have been developing research on psychology of religion, and an analysis of studies that have been conducted in this area since 2000. A brief examination of Brazil's religious context is performed, considering its impact on culture and behavior, followed by an overview of past developments and current trends in this field of research. Psychology of religion has been studied from a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives in Brazil and has an interdisciplinary connection mainly to sciences of religion, theology, philosophy, and anthropology. Theoretical approaches go from cognitive psychology of religion to cultural psychology of religion, and to social psychology and psychodynamics. This study concludes with suggestions for future directions.

Notes

¹ The term “Afro-Brazilian religions” refers to a broad spectrum of religious beliefs and practices developed in Brazil as an unfolding of the African slaves religion. Umbanda started in the 20th century in the Brazilian southeast. Considered a very Brazilian religion, it is a syncretism of the black orixás, Catholicism, and Kardecism (Prandi, 2004).

² Candomblé is a religion from Bahia. Traditional and ethnic, it preserves the patrimony of the descendents of slaves. It takes other names in different regions of Brazil, such as xangô in Pernambuco, tambor de mina in Maranhão, and batuque in Rio Grande do sul (Prandi, 2004). Canfomblé and Umbanda are magic religions. They both presuppose the knowledge and the usage of supernatural forces to intervene in the world (Prandi, 2004).

³ Kardecismo: The so-called spiritism is a philosophical-religious doctrine developed by the French philosopher Allan Kardec. This group succeeded basically just in Brazil. Central to the Spiritism Kardecist is the belief of spirits, mediumship, reincarnation, and spiritual development through charity practices and the processes of reincarnation (Prandi, 2012b).

⁴ This observation is based on primary research developed on some minority groups, such as Santo Daime and União do Vegetal (Esperandio, 2011).

⁵ The main founders of the Gospel Theology (or Theology of Prosperity) are Essek Kenyon and Kenneth Hagin. For more details, see Bowler (2010). In the United States, the most contemporary prominent representative of this theology is Osteen (2005). In Brazil, the main spreader of this theology is a well-known bishop, Edir Macedo, founder of the very successful Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. The theology of prosperity claims that those who make an alliance with God have benefits, such as economic prosperity, health, success, and happiness (see Esperandio, 2012).

⁶ Collected data on July 20, 2013, at the CAPES (Coordination for Enhancement of Higher Education Personnel) World Wide Web: conteudoweb/ProjetoRelacaoCursosServlet?acao=pesquisarIes&codigoArea=70700001&descricaoArea=CI%CANCIAS+HUMANAS+&descricaoAreaConhecimento=PSICOLOGIA&descricaoArea Avaliacao=PSICOLOGIA