“I WAS CHOSEN BY GOD”

Memories and musealities in the religious field in Imperatriz-MA

Abstract

This article proposes to study the memory of Pentecostal, Catholic and Afro-Brazilian religions groups in Imperatriz-Ma, through the documentary, iconographic and material culture collection provided by them to this research. The objective is to analyze the representations of the memory of these groups, seeking the relationships between these memories and different aspects of contemporaneity such as their religious identity, their disputes in the religious field, their insertion in the public space. For this, we use as theoretical-methodological guidance authors who are references in the theme of memory, such as: Pierre Nora, Michael Pollak and Maurice Halbwachs, more theories of museology, especially the concept of “museality”, by Tereza Scheiner. The results show us, through musealized memories, the power strategies by the currently dominant religions (Pentecostal and Catholic), both to spread their doctrines, and in the ways of subalternizing and demonizing Afro-Brazilian religions and their practices, as well as the forms of resistance of Afro-Brazilian religions.