Revista Brasileira de História das Religiões

The conservative legacy of Bishop Antônio de Castro Mayer: a historical perspective

2025-02-05T19:27:10-03:00

Dom Antônio de Castro Mayer foi uma das figuras mais proeminentes do conservadorismo católico brasileiro no século XX. Sua trajetória, analisada a partir de uma pesquisa documental histórica, revela um sacerdote profundamente comprometido com a preservação de uma visão antimoderna e antiecumênica da Igreja, alinhada aos paradigmas definidos pelos concílios de Trento e Vaticano I. Durante o Concílio Vaticano II, Castro Mayer posicionou-se como um firme opositor às reformas conciliares, tornando-se um dos líderes da resistência conservadora. Diferentemente da maioria das dioceses brasileiras, a diocese de Campos não incorporou prontamente as mudanças conciliares, permanecendo como uma realidade eclesiológica singular no contexto mundial. O processo de recepção das reformas conciliares na Igreja de Campos só teve início após a saída de Castro Mayer, em novembro de 1981. A partir de então, intensificaram-se conflitos internos, exonerações e substituições de párocos, culminando em 1988, quando Castro Mayer participou das sagrações episcopais realizadas sem mandato apostólico. Esse ato, liderado pelo arcebispo Marcel Lefebvre, simbolizou sua adesão à luta anticonciliar e marcou uma ruptura institucional significativa em nome da preservação do modelo pré-conciliar, que ele chamava de a “Igreja de Sempre”. Este artigo, por meio de pesquisa documental histórica, examina o legado de Castro Mayer na diocese de Campos dos Goytacazes, destacando como sua postura intransigente resultou em uma experiência única na história da Igreja, caracterizada por uma resistência doutrinária e institucional que continua a ecoar no debate sobre o impacto do Concílio Vaticano II.

Palavras-chave: Tradicionalismo, Diocese de Campos, anticoncílio, Castro Mayer.

“I did not come to bring peace, but a sword”: evangelical identity, public morality, and disputes over fundamentalism in Brazil

2025-06-09T09:51:35-03:00

This paper analyzes evangelical identity in Brazil, exploring the complex relationship between religious discourse and the public sphere. It discusses the use of the term "fundamentalism" to describe certain evangelical sectors, arguing that this categorization is simplistic and overlooks the internal diversity of the movement. The research examines the construction of a generic evangelical identity, contrasting it with confessional diversity and tensions between tradition and modernity. The methodology involves analyzing the concept of fundamentalism through sociological authors, as well as applying post-structuralist discourse theory to evangelical church discourses based on empirical research, data analysis, and images. The reflections include discussions on the political participation of evangelicals, the influence of the media, and the construction of identity boundaries in relation to the "world."

Souza Marques and the brazilian baptists: the Rise of an (un)suitable spokesperson between 1910-1930

2025-06-09T10:07:31-03:00

The historiography on the role of Protestantism in Brazilian society still has several gaps, particularly in the context of republican history. The recent prominence of evangelicals in presidential campaigns highlights the need for more studies aimed at understanding this social phenomenon. In this regard, this article seeks to analyze the early years of José de Souza Marques’s trajectory. Born in Morro do São Carlos in 1894, Souza Marques converted at the age of 17 at the First Baptist Church of Rio de Janeiro. Recognized as a promising pastor, he was sent to the South Brazil Baptist Theological Seminary, where he graduated in 1922. As a religious minister, he founded several churches in Rio de Janeiro’s peripheral areas and stood out as an educator, establishing both the Souza Marques School and College. After earning a law degree from the National Law School in 1939, Souza Marques entered politics, founding the Democratic Republican Party in 1945. As a result, he was elected state deputy for the PTB in 1960. His journey solidified him as a central figure in Rio de Janeiro’s political landscape, advocating for causes such as agrarian reform, public education, and the interests of Brazilian evangelicals. Considering that his life was deeply intertwined with both "Baptist faith" and "race" in the post-abolition period, this article examines the key acts of investiture that shaped the institutional trajectory of José de Souza Marques, a Black leader within the Brazilian Baptist Convention.

Non-institutional aspects of Japanese religions in Brazil before the 1950s: reconsidering the "Maeyama paradigm"

2025-06-09T11:22:38-03:00

In the academic production on Japanese religions and religiosities in Brazil, one of the main research approaches stems from the propositions of Japanese anthropologist Takashi Maeyama, eventually becoming the primary framework for interpreting the phenomenon. What we call the "Maeyama paradigm" posits that Japanese immigrants and their descendants in Brazil did not engage in institutional religious practices until around the 1950s. This article aims to analyze this paradigm, highlighting its assumptions and implications as a guiding model for subsequent studies, including from an epistemological standpoint. From a methodological perspective, bibliographic research was conducted, focusing both on Maeyama’s works and later investigations, using the concept of place of production, as proposed by Michel de Certeau, to think about the insertion of the academic discourse of the Japanese anthropologist. From a theoretical point of view, the concept or paradigm was mobilized, according to Thomas Kuhn. In the discussion, we suggest that although the paradigm is significant, it can be questioned in light of themes such as ancestor worship and its relation to cemeteries, as well as manifestations of Shinto in Brazil.

Emotions and Mental Health: A reading of 20th-Century adventist authors

2025-07-01T16:00:45-03:00

Our article starts from two observations, which are also theoretical and empirical assumptions: (1) for some time now, the mental and emotional health of individuals has been a global concern (and Brazil is no different); (2) in addition to states and other public health organizations, religious communities of various beliefs, models of faith, and practices are also concerned with the matter. As a hypothesis, we understand that the Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA), for over a century, has stood out among other Christian churches regarding the mental, emotional, and physical health of its members and others under its influence, even non-Adventists. To avoid an obvious path—namely, another reading of the texts by the prophetess Ellen G. White, which can be considered foundational to the SDA—we opted to analyze two 20th-century Adventist authors concerned with mental and emotional health: Humberto O. Swartout and Marcelo I. Fayard. Through documentary (sources) and bibliographic (commentaries) research, our methodology is based on both the history of emotions and the sociology of religious emotions. Among the results achieved, we highlight that Adventist books on mental and emotional health have always aimed to reach the internal Adventist community but to serve as a calling card for non-Adventists in each nation, primarily through colportage (book ministry).

Jesus, O Mago: um olhar (ainda) negligenciado sobre Jesus de Nazaré

2025-06-09T10:14:30-03:00

Jesus e seus seguidores envolveram-se com práticas de magia e fizeram de tais práticas o elemento central do cristianismo originário. No entanto, com o tempo, a constatação de que Jesus e as primeiras gerações de cristãos praticaram magia criou um embaraço para as autoridades religiosas, que buscaram a todo custo suprimir este aspecto do cristianismo.

The Daughters of Mary: agents of transnational history in the 19th century

2025-07-22T09:42:15-03:00

Starting from brief reflections on the connected and transnational approaches in contemporany historiography and their relevance for the study of the movements of religious institutions in space and time, especially since the 16th century, this article deals with the cult of Our Lady of Grace, the Miraculous Medal and its relationship with Daughters of Mary, considered to be the bast students of the Daughters of Charitt of Saint Vincent de Paul in the 19th century. Mary appeared three times to the French novice Catherine Labouré from 1830 onwards and presented the model of the Miraculous Medal, which was to be distributed among her “daughters” of all nation. Thus came into being the Daughters of Mary, considered to be those most capable of multiplying the Catholic discourse and expanding it universally in female educational institutions. We intend to analyse the transnational movement of the Daughters of Mary on the festivities of the cult of the Miraculous Medal, instituted in 1894.

“Mary Leads the Way”: female mystical leadership and marian apparitions in the political context of nineteenth-century Europe

2025-07-22T10:22:36-03:00

The rise of feminist movements coincided with the strategic use of Marian devotion to shape women’s
social roles, while Catholic Romanticism of the period actively encouraged mystical religious experiences. In this context, countries such as Germany, Italy, and France witnessed a significant increase in cases involving female mystics and visionaries. However, the Catholic Church’s differing responses—encouraging the passivity of female visionaries in relation to Marian apparitions while restraining female mystical leadership—reveal the ambiguous ways in which women, the Virgin, and female mysticism were instrumentalized in support of the Church’s strategies for survival in modernity. This article investigates the relationship between the political and religious revival
of the Catholic Church in nineteenth-century Europe and the notable increase in reports of Marian apparitions and female stigmata mysticism during the same period. The study relies on both qualitative and quantitative analyses of reported cases, along with a critical review of the historiography on the subject.

“This Crown will achieve the conversion of many sinners”: The creation of a visionary culture in Campinas through sisters Amália de Jesus Flagelado and Benedetta Mello (1928–1937)

2025-07-10T18:08:23-03:00

The first decades of the 20th century were marked by various Marian events, with visions that transformed Catholic devotions in the Western world. Based on the perspectives of Cultural History, we analyze the events surrounding the visions in the city of Campinas, in the countryside of São Paulo state (Brazil), beginning in 1928, with accounts led by Sisters Amália de Jesus Flagelado and Benedetta Mello. For our discussions, we draw on pontifical documents, press materials, the Congregation of the Missionaries of Jesus Crucified, the Archivio Apostolico Vaticano, and the UNICAMP Memory Center. The investigation revealed how the events were organized by members of the Catholic Church, constituting an important framework for discussions about visions of Jesus Christ and Our Lady, fundamental to religious disputes with Protestants in the first half of the 20th century. Likewise, the forms of silencing established by the Roman Curia as a way of organizing devotions during the period under investigation were observed.

“The Saint of Campinas”: sister Amalia of Jesus Flagellated and the visionary experience in Brazil

2025-07-22T09:59:09-03:00

This article focuses on the debates surrounding the Marian visions of Sister Amália of Jesus Flagellated in the city of Campinas in the late 1920s, involving scientists and religious leaders from different faiths. A member of the Institute of the Missionaries of Jesus Crucified, from 1928 onwards, the nun began to experience mystical experiences that were associated with ecstasies, which resulted in the appearance of stigmata. In addition, the nun also claimed to have conversations with Jesus in chains and with Our Lady of Tears. This experience became a media phenomenon, with reports published in the press, in addition to books written by doctors discussing the nature of the episodes. Thus, these documentary records allow us to reflect on the controversies surrounding the image of the nun, as well as the different interests in the uses of this experience in the Brazilian religious and scientific fields.

The Pilgrimage of Nuestra Señora del Cisne in the lower Andes of Ecuador

2025-07-22T09:39:22-03:00

This article begins by outlining the historical and theoretical context in which the current research is developed. Second, it presents the methodology, a multi-sited and experimental ethnography. Third, it critically traces the origins of Nuestra Señora del Cisne (NSC). Fourth, it analyzes the 2022 Pilgrimage as the main rite surrounding NSC. Fifth, it analyzes the 2022 Integration Festival as another pilgrimage, an alternative to the hegemonic one. And sixth, as results and conclusion, it understands the construction of social subjectivity in the interaction between Feelings, Practices, Thoughts (SentisPraxisPensares); and it also sheds light on the transcendental role of NSC in this process.

Marian Cult in Angola: Madonna of the Immaculate Conception “Mother Muxima” and the Sacred Place

2025-07-25T17:17:34-03:00

In this work, we will explore the popular construction of the cult and devotion to Madonna of the Conception of Muxima, or "Mamã Muxima" as she is known by the local population, whose church is currently located in the village of Muxima, in the municipality of Quissama, Luanda Province, Angola. As we will attempt to explain, based on the accounts and writings of priests and locals, for many centuries the church and the image of the Saint were largely neglected, maintained precariously by the local population, responsible for creating the myths surrounding the Saint. With the increase in the number of manifestations, pilgrimages, and devotions, and the delivery of thousands of letters at the feet of the Saint, the local ecclesiastical authority began to legitimize Marian worship in the Church.

Currently, the "Sanctuary of Mamã Muxima" is a site of annual pilgrimage, receiving thousands of catholic faithful from Angola and other nations, attracting the attention of Angolan political power. The cult of the Saint attracted so much attention from authorities that, in 2022, the State and the catholic Church joined forces to lay the foundation stone for the Basilica of Madonna of the Conception of Vila da Muxima, currently considered the most venerated and popular patron saint in Angola and throughout Africa. The event is little known in the history of religion in Brazil. Therefore, one of the central objectives of this work is to shed light on the specific nature of the construction and propagation of Marian cult in Angola, drawing attention to the power of oral tradition in its propagation.

Visões, aparições e cultos marianos no período contemporâneo

2025-08-27T22:30:52-03:00

As investigações em torno das visões, aparições e devoções marianas têm sido realizadas por profissionais das diferentes áreas do conhecimento. Desde os relatos sobre Lourdes, na França a partir de 1858, os eventos passaram a atender uma lógica com mensagens apocalípticas, a relação do político com o religioso, o protagonismo de crianças e o fortalecimento de projetos que tinham o objetivo de aprimorar as propostas da Igreja Católica e colaborar com a formação de uma neocristandade.