Rethinking Pentecostalism's Role in Brazilian Politics

• In Event: Pentecostalism in Latin America: Political and Religious Change

Abstract

This paper presents an assessment of the literature on the relationship between Protestantism (particularly Pentecostalism) and politics in Latin America and Brazil. It argues that that literature, based mostly on case studies and ethnographies, raised questions about the legitimacy of the Pentecostal political participation. However, despite the growth of the Brazilian Pentecostal population and the growth of scholars’ concern to their involvement in politics, most of the work did not offer clear and testable mechanisms to explain how the Pentecostal political mobilization could undermine political representation in Brazil. The literature on the Brazilian case posited a considerable degree of electoral success by Pentecostal politicians, and also argued that their relationship with their constituents would be based on clientelistic practices. However, it is unclear to what extent clientelism can be used as a mechanism to explain the alleged prejudicial nature of Pentecostal political participation in Brazil.

Author

• Fábio Lacerda Silva, Universidade de São Paulo