Description: Research on associations of religious jurists.
Since the mid-1990s, a public feeling of “invasion” has been experienced in Brazil. The growth of evangelicals in the country, the fundamental cause of this feeling, can reveal the solid Catholic cultural base and various stigmas. Numerous analyzes propose an understanding of this recent phenomenon, contributing in different directions: on the one hand, approaches that affirm the separation of the religious and political spheres, establishing markers of secularity that should be recovered or erected as a means of strengthening democracy in the country. On the other hand, reflecting on the Catholic base that would support the formation of the prerogatives of secularism in Brazil and, also, reflections on the positive character of religions for the formation of democratic and citizenship practices in our country. Since 2007, with the support of various funding agencies, we have followed the political strategies of Catholic, Evangelical and Afro-Brazilian groups in the National Congress. Some publications are the result of this effort to understand the interfaces between social actors that mobilize identities and repertoires from (supposedly) different spheres such as politics and religion in their public actions.
Goals: Accompany the growing number of associations of religious jurists, in particular, ANAMEL, ANAJURE (Evangelical) and AJE (Kardecist). Our attention falls on public justifications for their actions, the production of narratives, on the performance of their members in the National Congress and on projects that intend current perspectives of secularism, human rights and civil liberties. The research methodology is qualitative with observation of official documentation of associations and ethnography of events promoted by them. As products, we intend to prepare articles and events, foster networks and disseminate research results in the media and civil society organizations interested in the topic.