AXÉ-AMÉM is an in-person political-pedagogical training program offered by ISER – Institute for Religious Studies, which promotes dialogue and encounters between Black evangelical and/or Afro-Brazilian religious practitioners, focusing on the possibility of coexistence, cooperation, and the construction of collective strategies to confront religious racism in Brazil.
The initiative stems from the recognition that religious racism directly and daily affects Black populations, especially in low-income areas and in educational settings, and that dialogue between different religious affiliations can produce concrete responses of care, protection, and social impact. Instead of reinforcing divisions and conflicts, AXÉ-AMÉM focuses on encounter, active listening, and mutual learning, aiming for the common good.
In 2026, the training will be conducted entirely in Rio de Janeiro, at ISER's headquarters, with two in-person classes, selected through a single selection process:
- Class 1 – General
- Class 2 – Exclusive for educators
Who can participate?
You can register:
- Black people (both black and brown), aged 18 and over;
- People who identify as evangelical and/or followers of Afro-Brazilian religious traditions;
- People who believe in the possibility of dialogue and cooperation between evangelicals and Afro-Brazilian religious communities;
- For Class 2, it is necessary to work as an educator in formal or non-formal educational settings;
- People who are available to participate in person in the meetings on Saturdays (provisional schedule below).
⚠️ People who have already participated in previous editions of AXÉ-AMÉM will NOT be able to re-register, but they can participate in the public classes and historical journeys carried out throughout the training; we will send out a specific invitation closer to the dates.
What will the training sessions be like?
The training will be conducted in person at ISER headquarters in downtown Rio de Janeiro and is structured around 3 thematic areas, with approximately 2 meetings per month, over 3 months per group, totaling 6 in-person meetings per group.
Selection process
- Publication of the call for proposals: March 9, 2026
- Registration period: March 10 to 22, 2026
- Curatorship and interviews: March 23-31, 2026
- Results will be announced by April 3, 2026.
Approximately 60 people will be selected in total, with about 30 participants per class.
Training schedule*
(It's important to check your availability before registering):
🔹 Class 1 – AXÉ-AMÉM (GENERAL)
📍 ISER – Rio de Janeiro
- April 11 and 25, 2026
- May 16 and 30, 2026
- June 13 and 27, 2026
🔹 Class 2 – AXÉ-AMÉM (EDUCATORS)
📍 ISER – Rio de Janeiro
- July 18, 2026
- August 1st, 15th and 29th, 2026
- September 12 and 19, 2026
*These dates are subject to change, and you will be notified as far in advance as possible.
Are you interested?
Registration will be done via an online form: https://forms.gle/Bis1R3eN6MCo74KL9
If you have any questions, please contact us by email:
📧 axeamem@iser.org.br
1. What is the purpose of this project?
The project Axé-Amen It stems from the desire to build possible bridges between Black evangelical people and Black people from terreiro (Afro-Brazilian religious communities). It is a political-pedagogical training that seeks to stimulate the opening of paths, shift crystallized meanings, and create real possibilities for cooperation in confronting religious racism directed at terreiro people, as well as expressions of racism that also affect Black evangelical people.
The project is conceived as a space for exchange, listening, and mutual learning. A space that aims to contribute to more conscious forms of coexistence between evangelical people and the people of the terreiro (Afro-Brazilian religious community), inspiring significant changes in how we perceive and relate to each other.
2. How do the meetings work?
We start from crossroads as a pedagogical methodA symbolic meeting place for distinct paths, where divergences, tensions, and different histories can be recognized and critically elaborated. In this sense, Axé-Amém believes in the possibility of encounter and cooperation around the common good, without denying existing conflicts, but dealing with them in an ethical, political, and respectful way.
3. Why is the training geared towards Black people?
A key aspect in understanding the meaning of the project is recognizing that racial dimension of the religious phenomenon in Brazil. Recent research on data from the 2022 Census shows that the growth of evangelical churches in recent decades has occurred primarily among the Black population. In other words, when we talk about evangelicals in Brazil today, we are largely talking about... a predominantly Black audience, especially Black and mixed-race people.
Ignoring this racial dimension when discussing religious violence means losing sight of a central part of the problem. This is because many Black evangelicals also experience profound tensions between their racial identity and religious discourses that demonize traditions of African origin. These tensions do not arise from nothing: they are the result of a long historical process of colonization, cultural erasure, and denial of African heritage.
Therefore, Axé-Amém starts from an important premise: There is no consistent way to confront religious racism without dialogue within the Black community itself.. In this sense, we argue that dialogue and coexistence between Black evangelicals and practitioners of Afro-Brazilian religious traditions can constitute an important path in confronting religious racism and building new horizons for coexistence.
4. Don't you believe that this initiative weakens the fight against violence promoted by fundamentalist sectors?
This is a concern that comes up quite frequently, and it stems from an important diagnosis: in fact, there are sectors within the evangelical field that have historically promoted systematic attacks on religions of African origin. However, the Axé-Amém does not ignore this reality — it stems precisely from it..
The training is not intended to soften or erase existing conflicts. On the contrary, it creates a space where these tensions can be addressed. named, analyzed and confronted politically, from a racial perspective.
A key point in understanding this proposal is recognizing that the majority of the Black Brazilian population today is found in evangelical churches. Therefore, treating "evangelicals" as a homogeneous bloc of ignorance or violence often leads to a simplistic—and profoundly mistaken—interpretation of Black people themselves.
If we claim that we should not engage in dialogue with evangelicals, we need to acknowledge what this implies: In practice, we are saying that we should not engage in dialogue with a significant portion of the Black population itself., today, in Brazil.
Axé-Amém starts from a different perspective. The project doesn't engage with the major media leaders—for the most part. white, male, and linked to projects of economic and political power. which often reinforce discourses of religious intolerance. The project engages with the social base of churches, formed mostly by Black people, many of them residents of the outskirts of cities, favelas, and working-class areas. In the first edition of the training, for example, we had a significant presence of people from West Zone of Rio de Janeiro and Baixada Fluminense. These are people who live in the same territories as the terreiros (Afro-Brazilian religious sites), and who often harbor discomfort or prejudices regarding African-based traditions—not because they are ignorant or violent by nature, but because... They have historically been kept away from knowledge about their own cultural heritage..