International Journal of Public Theology 6 (2012) 99117 brill.

nl/ijpt

Pentecostalism and Citizenship in Brazil:

Between Escapism and Dominance

Rudolf von Sinner

Escola Superior de Teologia, So Leopoldo, Brazil

Abstract
Brazil is, today, the most Catholic, but also the most Pentecostal country in the world.
The Pentecostal churches, namely the Assemblies of God, have been particularly suc-
cessful among the poorest of the poor. There is little discourse on citizenship in Pente-
costal churches, and its theological bases still seem to foster escapism; yet, believers
regain a sense of dignity and respect for themselves and for others as they discover
themselves as bearers of the Holy Spirit. In addition, contrary to the general percep-
tion, there are signs of a sense of responsibility for the whole human being, the environ-
ment and the common good. However, the relatively recent principle of brother votes
for brother tends to narrow down internal and external attention in terms of politics to
the election of Pentecostal politicians, with all its ambivalences and a danger to seek
dominance. This article argues that a third way between escapism and dominance,
guided by a public theology, is possible.

Keywords
pentecostalism, citizenship, Brazil

If one wants to do something good in this world, then one must struggle against
injustices and dare to speak the truth.

Lewi Pethrus1

As cited by Per Olov Enquist, Lewis Reise (Frankfurt a. M.: Fischer, 2005), p. 379 (my translation)
1)

[available in English as Per Olov Enquist, Lewis Journey (New York: Overlook TP, 2006)].
Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2012 DOI: 10.1163/156973212X617208
100 R. von Sinner / International Journal of Public Theology 6 (2012) 99117

Introduction
There is the well-known statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro on
Corcovado Hill. Inaugurated in 1931, the statue serves as an unmistakable sign
of power, not so much of Christ but of the Roman Catholic Church in Brazil.
In the midst of ifty bishops and archbishops, Cardinal Sebastio Leme (1882
1942), Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, stated that either the State... will recog-
nize the God of the people or the people will not recognize the State.2 He said
this in the presence of the head of the provisional government, Getlio Vargas,
who indeed learnt to respect and construct a close partnership with the Roman
Catholic Church, called neo-Christendom, which since 1889 had no longer
been an established church.
There is the well-known structure of the famous temple of Solomon: The
house that King Solomon built for the LORD was sixty cubits long, twenty
cubits wide, and thirty cubits high (RSV, 1 Kgs 6:2). While the original temple
was built three thousand years ago, a new one is being built, not in Jerusalem
but in Brazilian So Paulo, and is to be completed in four years. The Universal
Church of Gods Kingdom (Igreja Universal do Reino de DeusIURD) has
received the building licence. The temple is to be ifty-ive meters high; it is
surely not a mere coincidence that this is nearly double the height of the Christ
statue in Rio de Janeiro,3 and, therefore, an unmistakable sign of power, not so
much of Solomon or his God but of the named neo-Pentecostal Church.
Less well-known is the construction in ruins of the Church of Eben-Ezer
(Stone of Gods help, see 1 Sam. 7:12), located on a headland in the Rio Negro,
an influent of the Amazon River near Manaus.4 More or less quietly, more or
less effectively, such small churches are built everywhere, with whatever means
are at hand. The Church of Eben-Ezer has the typical threefold front and for-
mat of a Pentecostal church, in this case of an Assembly of God (Assemblia
de DeusAD). The construction was abandoned because not enough converts
could be found on the small headland. This temple ruin is an unmistakable
sign of power, but, at the same time, also of the lack of power of this hundred

2)
As cited by Ralph Della Cava, Catholicism and Society in Twentieth-Century Brazil, Latin
American Research Review, 11:2 (1976), 750 at 14, citing Margaret Patrice Todaro, Pastors, Proph-
ets, and Politicians: A Study of the Brazilian Catholic Church, 19161945, PhD Dissertation,
Columbia University, 1971.
3)
Tom Phillips, Solomons Temple in Brazil Would Put Christ the Redeemer in the Shade, The
Guardian (21 July 2010), <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/21/solomon-temple-brazil-
christ-redeemer> [accessed 12 October 2011].
4)
I saw and took a picture of this church during a boat trip on the Rio Negro in August 2010.
 R. von Sinner / International Journal of Public Theology 6 (2012) 99117 101

year old, largest Pentecostal organization of Brazil. For many, its fulilment
does not lie here and now, but in the time after Christs second coming.
These three examples may serve as an introduction to the presence of reli-
gion in the public square in Brazil.5 In what follows, I shall, irst introduce
Brazilian Pentecostalism historically and sociologically. In a second step,
the emphasis will be on political and theological positions of the AD, and,
inally, some concluding remarks on citizenship, escapism and dominance
will follow.

Historical and Sociological Aspects

A common saying is that in Brazil, everything becomes religion.6 A survey car-
ried out in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area in the early 1990s found that
six new churches were being founded every single week. Some are just the size
of a garage, with maybe ifty members; others have expanded to hundreds or
thousands of adherents or even become religious multinationals.7 The Uni-
versal Church of Gods Kingdom (IURD) is pretentious already in its name and
by now present in the whole world, continuously sending out Brazilian pastors
and bishops to cater for its churches everywhere.8 In Brazil, it competes with
its massive public presencethrough enormous, centrally located temples
and the nations second largest TV network, but also through its positioning as
a moral alternative9directly with the Roman Catholic Church.

5)
See also Rudolf von Sinner, Brazil: From Liberation Theology to a Theology of Citizenship as
Public Theology, International Journal of Public Theology, 1:34 (2007), 33863 and Rudolf von
Sinner, Towards a Theology of Citizenship as Public Theology in Brazil, Religion & Theology,
16:34 (2009), 181206.
6)
On this, see Gerd-Uwe Kliewer, Effervescent Diversity: Religions and Churches in Brazil Today,
The Ecumenical Review, 57:3 (2005), 31421 and Rudolf von Sinner, Religion, in John C. Crocitti,
ed., Brazil Today: An Encyclopedia of Life in the Republic (Greenwood: ABC Clio, 2011, forthcom-
ing).
7)
I take the term from Ricardo Mariano, Usos e limites da teoria da escola racional da religio,
Tempo Social 20:2 (2008), pp. 4166, at p. 58.
8)
See Andr Corten, Jean-Pierre Dozon and Ari Pedro Oro, eds, Les nouveaux conqurants de la
foi. LEglise universelle du royaume de Dieu (Brsil) (Paris: Karthala, 2003).
9)
This can be seen, for instance, in the position which this church adopted at a hearing of the
Supreme Court on 25 August 2008 on the general liberation of abortion in the case of anencepha-
lous foetuses. The Roman Catholic Bishops Conference was, as could be expected, against it,
while the IURD stated that in such cases the will of the woman who has to endure such a drama
should prevail... In our opinion, such a decriminalization of abortion must not be blocked
102 R. von Sinner / International Journal of Public Theology 6 (2012) 99117

There is a clear trend in religious afiliation: while the Roman Catholic

Church still holds, at least nominally, the clear majority of members (and with
about 124 million Catholics, Brazil is the most Catholic country in the world),
it has had to endure signiicant losses, while the Pentecostals have grown at an
astounding pace. Brazil has become, in the meantime, also the most Pentecos-
tal country in the world. From the census in 1980 to the second latest in 2000
(the numbers of 2010 have not yet been published), Pentecostals have tripled
and have about twenty-six million self-declared members. However, in the
same period, the number of persons without religion has also grown by that
factor, standing at 7.3% in 2000. Without religion does not necessarily mean
that these persons do not have any faith; however, they do not belong to any
organized religious community. Furthermore, religious mobility is enormous:
according to a survey carried out in 2004, twenty-three per cent of the popula-
tion (including ifteen million Catholics) have changed their religion, once or
more, but this generally means that they have changed their church.10 In addi-
tion, there are many charismatics within historical churches, possibly includ-
ing half of the practising Catholics.11
Both Pentecostals and charismatics focus on the same phenomenon of the
biblical Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit illed Jesus disciples and they began
to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability (NRSV, Acts 2:34).
The movement was started in the United States, for which the spontaneous
speaking in unknown and incomprehensible or in not previously learnt lan-
guages (speaking in tongues) was taken to be evidence for baptism in the Holy
Spirit.12 In the U.S., more precisely in Chicago with William H. Durham (1873
1912), the Italian Luigi Francescon (18661964) and the Swedes Gunnar Vingren
(18791933) and Daniel Berg (18841963) became familiar with this movement
and brought it to Brazil. Tradition has it that brother Adolfo Ulldin received a
prophecy for the two Swedes with the name Par; a state in the north of Brazil

through conceptual or religious radicalism (see <http://www.stf.jus.br/arquivo/cms/processoAu-

dienciaPublicaAdpf54/anexo/ADPF54__notas_dia _26808.pdf> [accessed 17 August 2011]).
10)
See Slvia Regina Alves Fernandes, ed., Mudana de religio no Brasil: desvendando sentidos e
motivaes (Rio de Janeiro: CERIS, 2006).
11)
See R. Andrew Chesnut, A Preferential Option for the Spirit: The Catholic Charismatic Renewal
in Latin Americas New Religious Economy, Latin American Politics and Society, 45:1 (2003), 5585
at 62.
12)
See Peter Zimmerling, Charismatische Bewegungen (Gttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht,
2009), pp. 1529 and Walter P. Hollenweger, Pentecostalism: Origins and Developments Worldwide
(Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005).
 R. von Sinner / International Journal of Public Theology 6 (2012) 99117 103

which could easily be identiied on the world map. Furthermore, the brothers
learnt from Ulldins prophecy that the people spoke Portuguese there. Finally,
it was revealed to Ulldin that Vingren was to marry a woman called Strand-
berg.13 These are complementary indications which for them proved that this
was really a mission entrusted to them by God. However, in addition to the
prophecy, it is noteworthy that Par was well known in South Bend, Indiana,
where Ulldin lived, as a place that exported rubber, not least to Chicago, then
a rising industrial centre. In fact, in South Bend there was a car factory that
used rubber from Par.14 Furthermore, the pastor of the Baptist church in
the capital of Par, Belm (Bethlehem), where Vingren and Berg arrived on
19 November 1910, was Erik Nilsson, who was also a Swede. He had come to
Brazil, via the U.S., and had been founding churches all over the Amazon
region, since 1897; an activity that was certainly known about in the U.S.
On 2 June 1911, the irst person to receive baptism in the Holy Spirit was a
woman, Celina Albuquerque (18761966), who had been healed of an incur-
able illness, through prayer. After this, according to Vingren, she asked to
receive the Holy Spirit.15 Then, the second person baptized by the Spirit was
another woman, Maria de Jesus Nazar, who became an important mission-
ary.16 Women in general played a central role in the emerging Pentecostal
church; namely, but not exclusively, as the wives of pastors.17 Fifty-ive per cent
of those expelled from the Baptist church, because of their experiences of the
Spirit, were women. Frida Maria Strandberg (18911940), the name mentioned
by brother Ulldin, was sent as a missionary from Sweden to Brazil and married
brother Vingren as foreseen. She was multitalented: Nurse, poet, composer,
editor, researcher, preacher and teacher18 and had, de facto, the leadership in
her hands during Vingrens frequent absences and phases of illness. After its
expulsion from the Baptists, the group referred to itself as the Apostolic Faith

13)
See Ivar Vingren, Dirio do Pioneiro Gunnar Vingren, 8th edn (Rio de Janeiro: CPAD, 2005),
pp. 268 and Daniel Berg, Enviado por Deus: Memrias, 8th edn (Rio de Janeiro: CPAD, 2000),
pp. 316.
14)
See Roberto Jos Schuler, Pingstbewegungen in Brasilien. Sozio-politische Implikationen der
neuen Pluralitt (So Leopoldo: Sinodal, 2004), pp. 545.
15)
See Vingren, Dirio, p. 40; Isael de Arajo, Dicionrio do Movimento Pentecostal (Rio de Janeiro:
CPAD, 2007), pp. 78.
16)
Her dates are unknown; Arajo, Dicionrio, pp. 5012.
17)
This is, again, attested to by Enquist: Such was the case in the whole Pentecostal movement.
It was the women who sat there... they were the faith supporting class, never in leadership, but
always the reliable basis (Enquist, Lewis Reise, p. 407).
18)
Arajo, Dicionrio, p. 903.
104 R. von Sinner / International Journal of Public Theology 6 (2012) 99117

Mission (Misso da F Apostlica, founded on 18 June 1911), registering the

church on 11 January 1918, as the Assemblies of God (Assemblias de Deus).
Despite the same name being used for the U.S. Pentecostal movement, where
the Assemblies of God were founded in 1914, it was initially a Brazilian organi-
zation. Very soon, power was handed over to local pastors, something which
was very important to the leader of the Swedish Pentecostal movement and
friend and teacher of the Brazil missionaries, Lewi Pethrus (18841974), espe-
cially in the case of Brazil. In 1930, he visited the country.19
Still before Berg and Vingren, the above mentioned Italian born Luigi
Francescon had also come to Brazil and founded, in 1910, the Christian
Congregation of Brazil (Congregao Crist do Brasil) in So Paulo, among
Italian immigrants. Together with the awakening in Belm, the irst wave of
Brazilian Pentecostalism emerged.20 For the two aforementioned churches,
speaking in tongues, prophecies and the discernment of the Spirit were central
elements of their practice of faith. Until today, these two, Congregao and
Assemblias de Deus, have remained the largest Pentecostal churches, with
around 2.5 and 8.5 million members (in 2000), respectively.
A second wave emerged in the 1950s through United States missionaries
from the Church of the Four-Square Gospel, but also through Brazilian preach-
ers like Manoel de Mello, founder of the Pentecostal Church Brazil for Christ
(Igreja Pentecostal o Brasil para Cristo) in 1955 and Davi de Miranda, founder of
the Pentecostal Church God is Love (Igreja Pentecostal Deus Amor) in 1962.
These latter two churches were founded in So Paulo and were characterized
by the emphasis on healing as a gift of the Spirit and the use of mass media for
evangelization.
The third wave originated in Rio de Janeiro and constituted the neo-
Pentecostal churches (sometimes known as post-Pentecostal).21 They differ
considerably from earlier Pentecostal churches, inasmuch as the classical gifts
of the Spirit (pneumatika) or gifts of grace (charismata) as well as the strict
moral discipline gave way to healing, exorcism and (economic and social)
prosperity. According to this view, the world is inhabited by evil spirits which

19)
See Enquist, Lewis Reise, p. 395.
20)
See Paul Freston, Breve histria do pentecostalismo brasileiro, in Alberto Antoniazzi et al.,
Nem anjos, nem demnios. Interpretaes sociolgicas do pentecostalismo (Petrpolis: Vozes, 1994),
pp. 67159; also Benjamin F. Gutirrez and Dennis A. Smith, In the Power of the Spirit: The Pente-
costal Challenge to Historic Churches in Latin America (Mexico City: AIPRAL; Guatemala: CELEP;
Louisville: Presbyterian Church USA, 1996).
21)
See Paulo D. Siepierski, Ps-pentecostalismo e poltica no Brasil, Estudos Teolgicos, 37:1
(1997), 4761.
 R. von Sinner / International Journal of Public Theology 6 (2012) 99117 105

have to be fought in a spiritual battle (batalha espiritual). Such evil spirits are
attributed more or less directly to African Brazilian religions, thus incorporat-
ing a discriminatory and racist aspect.22 For neo-Pentecostals, Gods gifts are at
work in this world, such that whoever believes suficiently and shows his or her
faith through considerable contributions to the church, is thought to be enti-
tled to demand gifts from God; as God is obliged to answer favourably on
account of the invested faith and its monetary expression. This belief can,
however, lead to grotesque situations. For example, one member sold his car to
give the 2,600 Reais he received to the IURD. An IURD pastor convinced him to
get rid of all his material belongings and give the revenue to the church, on the
basis that his life would take a positive turn. At the time, he was in deep inan-
cial trouble and at odds with his family. What he prayed for did not materialize
and he wanted the money back from the IURD. The court of appeal ruled in his
favour.23 Should such example be followed, the IURDs merchandizing of
faith would turn back on itself like a boomerang: a satisfying product or
your money back. It is no mere coincidence that there have been calls for reli-
gious consumer protection.24 Included in this third wave are the 1977 IURD,
the 1976 church Evangelical Community Heal our Earth (Comunidade Evang-
lica Sara Nossa Terra), the 1980 International Church of Grace (Igreja Interna-
cional da Graa) and the 1986 organization To Be Reborn in Christ (Renascer
em Cristo, 1986).25

The Assemblies of God in Brazil

In what follows, I shall concentrate on the Assemblias de Deus (AD).26 The
General Convention of the AD in Brazil (Conveno Geral das Assemblias de

22)
Ronaldo de Almeida calls this a form of inverted syncretism: through the combat of African
Brazilian spirits, their existence is acknowledged and their signiicance at least partially incorpo-
rated (Ronaldo de Almeida, La guerre des possessions, in Dozon, Corten and Oro, Conqurants,
pp. 25771 at pp. 26870).
23)
See ERS, TJ-SP condena Igreja Universal a devolver dinheiro de doao, ERS, <http://
www.ersadvocacia.com.br/conteudo.php?sid=44&cid=849> [accessed on 18 August 2011].
24)
Antnio Flvio Pierucci, Liberdade de cultos na sociedade de servios: em defesa do consu-
midor religioso, Novos Estudos CEBRAP, 44 (1996), 311.
25)
On the relation between neo-Pentecostals and classical Pentecostal churches see Ricardo
Mariano, Neopentecostais. Sociologia do novo pentecostalismo no Brasil (So Paulo: Loyola, 1999).
26)
More extensively on the AD in Brazil and their contribution to citizenship see Rudolf von Sin-
ner, The Churches and Democracy in Brazil: Towards a Public Theology Focused on Citizenship
(Eugene: Wipf & Stock, forthcoming); on a political theology from a Pentecostal perspective see
106 R. von Sinner / International Journal of Public Theology 6 (2012) 99117

Deus no BrasilCGADB) interprets the growth of Pentecostalism in Brazil and

worldwide as showing three truths about the Pentecostal Movement: irst,
that it came to stay and is not just a momentous and short-lived straw ire;
secondly, that baptism in the Holy Spirit... continues to be one of the most
powerful factors to add dynamism to the evangelization of the Church; thirdly,
it is proof that the coming of the Lord Jesus is near.27 These are all elements
which show some of the most important features of the AD: emphasis on bap-
tism in the Holy Spirit (and the receiving of the gifts of the Spirit), evangeliza-
tion and a (pre-millennial) eschatology.
The AD is generally anti-ecumenical and particularly anti-Catholic. This
attitude notwithstanding, they concur with the Roman Catholic Church on
most moral issues including the (general, but not total) rejection of abortion,
the rejection of homosexuality and especially of homosexual marriages, the
rejection of euthanasia and the disciplining of members as a consequence of
divorce. However, there is a certain ecumenical collaboration with other
churches, like the Seventh Day Adventists, Baptists, Presbyterians and the Uni-
versal Church of Gods Kingdom (IURD).28 At the same time, the Roman Catho-
lic Church is considered a sect, together with the African Brazilian Candombl,
the Mormons and so on; a negative view that reflects the ADs rejection of hav-
ing being called a sect by the ICAR for so long.29
Historically, the Pentecostal position was one of alienation from politics,
expressed in the phrases Crente no se mete em poltica; poltica coisa do
Diabo (the faithful do not mingle with politics; politics is the devils affair).
However, transition to democracy and, especially, the Constituent Process
198788 brought a radical change to the Pentecostal position, whose motto
became brother votes for brother.30
The churchs newspaper, Messenger of Peace (Mensageiro da Paz), remained
silent as to the 1984 Diretas J campaign for direct presidential elections, but

Amos Yong, In the Days of Caesar: Pentecostalism and Political Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
2010); on Brazil and Latin America see Paul Freston, ed., Evangelical Christianity and Democracy
in Latin America (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008).
27)
According to the article Pentecostais j so 28 milhes no Brasil segundo pesquisa, Mensage-
iro da Paz, 76:1458 (2006), 45.
28)
Information obtained from <http://www.assembleiadedeus100.org.br/htm/denominacao/
denominacoes4_1.htm> [accessed on 13 June 2007]. Unfortunately this link is no longer active.
29)
Information obtained from <www.assembleiadedeus100.org.br/htm/seitas/candomble.htm>
[accessed on 13 June 2007]. Unfortunately, this link is no longer active.
30)
See J. Sylvestre, Irmo vota em irmo. Os evanglicos, a Constituinte e a Bblia, Braslia 1986.
 R. von Sinner / International Journal of Public Theology 6 (2012) 99117 107

started to speak about politics frequently from 1985 onwards, following its new
policy statement:

Our church has suficient potential to put a representative in parliament in every

state... The churchs commitment, in this case, does not presuppose a political-
partisan involvement, as our security lies in God, but it represents an effort of the
church to manifest its beneicial influence in the highest spheres of public life.31

According to one of the best scholars of Brazilian Pentecostalism, Paul Freston,

the change from absence to presence in politics has not been accompanied by
theological changes. Theology continues to be dispensational and pre-millen-
nial, expecting an immediate return of Christ, and maintains a strict dualism
between good and evil.32 The object of the churches political engagement, fur-
thermore, is a relatively limited ield of predominantly moral issues in connec-
tion with sexuality and the family, as well as those that are of direct interest to
the church, like concessions for radio and TV emissions, tax exemptions and
religious public holidays like the Day of the Bible (9 December). In relation to
the Constituent Assembly, the ADs leadership were, according to Freston,
quite satisied: the invocation of God remained in the Constitution; religious
liberty was expanded, religious education in public schools maintained. Anti-
discrimination did not include discrimination because of sexual orientation as
an explicit item, and the death penalty was not introduced; again two contro-
versial elements in which Pentecostal preferences prevailed. However, the
Pentecostals lost on the issues of abortion, art censorship and divorce, on
which they fought for more rigorous regulations.33
In the meantime, the AD have had a considerable number of federal and
state deputies, mayors and city councillors, at times even a federal government
minister, although their elected representatives fell considerably in the 2006
elections.34 The majority of AD deputies were allegedly implicated in the ambu-
lances purchase corruption scam, sanguessuga (bloodsucker), which came to
light in 2006. The Mensageiro da Paz noted the reduction from sixty to ifteen
evanglico deputies, which, for the AD alone was a reduction from twenty-two

31)
Mensageiro da Paz (May 1985), as cited by P. Freston, Evanglicos na Poltica Brasileira. Histria
Ambgua e Desaio tico (Curitiba: Encontro, 1994), p. 43.
32)
See Yong, In the Days of Caesar, pp. 31823.
33)
See Freston, Evanglicos na poltica brasileira, p. 84.
34)
On the period up to 2000 see the chapter on Brazil in P. Freston, Evangelicals and Politics in
Asia, Africa and Latin America (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001).
108 R. von Sinner / International Journal of Public Theology 6 (2012) 99117

to ive.35 Supporters named this a media massacre, claiming that the accused
were deprived of their legitimate defence. Even so, ultimately the newspaper
stated, rather laconically but signiicantly, that church members had already
made their decision at the ballot.36 Both in respect to democracy and ecclesiol-
ogy as well as theological ethics, this seems to me an excellent result, as the
morality claimed by pastors and AD politicians is being applied to them and, in
this, a stronger trust in the set rules rather than in the leading persons becomes
evident.
The AD has speciic ways to name and support their candidates, and is
courted by candidates for executive ofices to gain their support. Since the
1990s, Freston attests:

evanglico religion [has been]... arriving at a series of social instances where it

had only a timid existence previously, or none at all. The best known example is
television... Other examples are sportsmen and women [for example, the Ath-
letes and Surfers for Christ], businessmen and women, the police, criminals and
gypsies. A mass Protestantism is forming, which assumes functions of popular reli-
giosity: churches in the place of terreiros [African Brazilian houses of worship]
in the slums, Pentecostals with the gift of healing rather than rezadores [prayer
people] and curandeiros [healers]... The new political presence is part of this
ample process of evangelical expansion.37

It is important not to restrict the potential of Pentecostals for social transfor-

mation to formal politics, particularly the election of brothers into govern-
ment. Such a concentration runs the danger of evaluating Pentecostalism
ipso facto as alienating. However, there is a considerable difference between
evanglico politicians and evanglico politics. As shown, in relation to the for-
mer, it is interesting to note that AD members maintain a considerable free-
dom compared to their leaders when it comes to following their convictions.
Although they are exposed more strongly to the discourse of their church than
other Christians (because of their regular participation and limited perception
of non-church media), and even if they show that the church is perceived as a
source of political guidance, it is, nevertheless, neither the sole nor necessarily

35)
In the 2010 elections, the AD parliamentary group rose again to twelve, <http://www.gospel
gospel.com.br/conira-como-icou-a-%E2%80%9Cbancada-evangelica%E2%80%9D-nas-
eleicoes-2010/> [accessed on 28 September, 2011]. Evanglico is not directly equivalent to evan-
gelical; it means all non-Catholic Christians, especially Pentecostals.
36)
Mensageiro da Paz, 76:1458 (November 2006), 3.
37)
Freston, Evanglicos na poltica brasileira, p. 15.
 R. von Sinner / International Journal of Public Theology 6 (2012) 99117 109

the most important element in the faithfuls electoral behaviour. According to

an empirical study, nineteen per cent of the evanglicos indicated to have
thought of voting for the party supported by their church, but more than ifty-
one per cent considered whether it was a party of honest people.38
Of greater signiicance is, in my view, the transmission of a sense of dignity
and capacity, which bestows force and power for the transformation and new
organization of life, so that the faithful can really understand themselves and
act as citizens, even if no speciic discourse is making this explicit, and even if
its basis could be a conservative, fundamentalist theology. If the poorest of the
poor can be seen as bearers of the Holy Spirit and this inds evidence in wor-
ship and in daily life, then real empowerment is happening. In contradiction to
this, pastors and namely the presidents of the parent churches have much
power in their hands and are in danger of practising or even reinforcing tradi-
tional patronage and clientelism.39 The fact that there is a growing tendency to
perpetuate oneself in ofice and make it a hereditary iefdom which can be
transferred to ones son is a case in point. Yet we are talking about churches in
which each and every one, regardless of his or her colour, gender, ethnic
belonging, profession or patrimony can receive the Holy Spirit without media-
tion. Furthermore, once a person belongs to the congregation, there are many
tasks and ofices she can assume there. Even if women normallythere are
exceptionsare not entitled to leadership functions because the AD reject
womens ordination, women can acquire communication and leadership skills
and hold a position of authority from which they may be excluded in secular
society. The believer passes through a radical conversion, a spiritual transfor-
mation that has an immediate effect on his or her life. The moral rigour of the
AD tends to be criticized and ridiculed from outside, but it certainly helps to
reconstruct families and boost the budget: AD men take more care of their
families and bring home the little money they receive rather than spend it all
on drinking. Furthermore, Pentecostal women no longer see men as masters
they must obey. Nor, however, do they view them as oppressors they must
rebel against. Rather, men are seen as victims of evil as they once were them-
selves, and therefore women feel responsible for their husbands and try to help

38)
Simone R. Bohn, Evanglicos no Brasil. Peril socioeconmico, ainidades ideolgicas e deter-
minantes do comportamento eleitoral, Opinio Pblica, 10:2 (2004), 288338 at 333.
39)
See R. Andrew Chesnut, Born Again in Brazil: The Pentecostal Boom and the Pathogens of
Poverty (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1997), pp. 12944. Chesnut calls this paradoxi-
cal model of organization participatory authoritarianism (ibid., p. 130).
110 R. von Sinner / International Journal of Public Theology 6 (2012) 99117

them.40 As men stop drinking and look more actively for jobs, they are better
received by their families and behave in a more controlled way. As drinking
problems are attributed to the devil, male responsibility is reduced, which
facilitates forgiveness and reintegration into the family. Similarly, Pentecostal
police oficers fulil their duties even under dificult circumstances:

What changes [on knowing Jesus and converting] is behaviour and responsibility.
Because we have to submit ourselves to local authorities, because in this way we
are submitting ourselves to God... The word of God says: For the eyes of the Lord
are upon the righteous [1 Pt. 3:12]. Every step, he is observing... And we cannot
live in hypocrisy. Thus, if an order is given to us, in our ofice, it has to be carried
out, independent from whoever is around us.41

While their insistence on obedience in a Prussian manner is certainly ambiva-

lent and might, under authoritarian circumstances, even be dangerous for its
lack of analysis of the orders legitimacy, it is most vital in a context where
many police oficers are themselves involved in crime and do not necessarily
execute orders nor abide by the law.
One of the most famous physicians in Brazil, Drauzio Varella, who worked
for some time in the So Paulo Carandiru prison, claims that the AD represent,
most probably, the only real project of re-socialization existing in the prison.42
Those who convert in prison are exempt from the rigid law imposed by the
inmates and are protected from violence. In addition, ex-prisoners might ind
a stable network of relationships when they leave the penitentiary that can
help them into a non-criminal life. Thus this testimony, as well as scientiic
research, proves what the church itself claims; that is, it restores lives in trans-
forming women and men from the margins of society into visibly decent and
honourable persons.43

40)
C. L. Mariz and M. de D. C. Machado, Pentecostalism and Women in Brazil, in E. L. Cleary and
H. W. Stewart-Gambino, eds, Power, Politics, and Pentecostals in Latin America (Boulder: West-
view Press, 1997), pp. 4154 at p. 52.
41)
Interview with the Policeman Francisco, of Rio de Janeiro, in Clara Mafra and Robson de Paula,
O Esprito da simplicidade: a cosmologia da Batalha Espiritual e as concepes de corpo e pessoa
entre policiais pentecostais cariocas, Religio e Sociedade, 22:1 (2002), pp. 5776 at p. 73.
42)
Drauzio Varella, Estao Carandiru (So Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2000), pp. 11720.
43)
See Ceclia L. Mariz, Coping with Poverty: Pentecostals and Christian Base Communities in Brazil
(Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1994); Ceclia L. Mariz, Pentecostalism and Confronta-
tion with Poverty in Brazil, in Gutirrez and Smith, eds, In the Power of the Spirit, pp. 12946; see
also Richard Shaull and Waldo Csar, Pentecostalism and the Future of the Christian Churches:
Promises, Limitations, Challenges (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000).
 R. von Sinner / International Journal of Public Theology 6 (2012) 99117 111

While discourse on issues of citizenship might be scarce, although not totally

absent, transformation makes a difference in peoples lives. Converts often
show their transformation by adopting formal clothing associated with the
typical outlook of crentes (believers); namely, suits and ties for men, sleeved
blouses and long skirts for women. Not only do converts have a sense of
dignity; in their new clothes, they are clearly distinguishable from potential
robbers or prostitutes, which gives them some measure of protection. Thus,
they ind support for feeling and acting like citizens, partaking of citizenship,
even if they do not tend to take part in social movements that seek to trans-
form society.44 The poor are not passive and powerless victims of society,
argues Ceclia Mariz.45 Converts might use unexpected and unspectacular ways
to attain their citizenship without ever using the word or concept itself; never-
theless, they enhance the notion of citizenship in the sense exposed above.46 In
other words, while the AD has contributed little to a new political discourse,
they have achieved remarkable success in coping with poverty.47
Hence, the guiding principles of the ADs political ethics, in the words of
the longstanding president of the ADs General Convention, Reverend Jos
Wellington Bezerra da Costa, are as follows:

The Church respects all constituted authority and teaches its members to be faith-
ful fulillers of their duties, and to obey the laws of the country. The Church col-
laborates with the authorities by restoring lives through the preaching of the Word
of God. Among the Churchs members, there are a great number of ex-vicious, ex-
addicts to all kinds of drugs, ex-criminals of all kinds of crimes, who were reached
by the Gospel message and became decent and honourable persons. Obedience

44)
John Burdick, Looking for God in Brazil: The Progressive Catholic Church in Urban Brazils
Religious Arena (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993), pp. 206220, however, brings
examples to show that Pentecostals are less apolitical than generally assumed. Some participate
in neighbourhood associations and can even become their presidents, provided those are not
dominated by Catholics; others form an important and credible, non-violent support group
for strikes. See also Rowan Ireland, Kingdoms Come. Religion and Politics in Brazil (Pittsburgh:
University of Pittsburgh Press, 1991).
45)
Mariz, Pentecostalism and Confrontation with Poverty in Brazil, p. 134.
46)
Already in 1975, Ronald Frase claims in his Princeton dissertation, A Sociological Analysis
of the Development of Brazilian Protestantism, what is paraphrased by David Martin, Tongues
of Fire: The Explosion of Protestantism in Latin America (Oxford: Blackwell, 1990), p. 65: Pentecos-
talism offers the fruits of honesty and thrift and a surrogate family, as well as the chance of
participation, and a sense of worth, meaning and empowerment.
47)
Cf. Mariz, Coping with Poverty; Andr Corten, Pentecostalism in Brazil. Emotion of the Poor and
Theological Romanticism (New York: St. Martins Press, 1999).
112 R. von Sinner / International Journal of Public Theology 6 (2012) 99117

and submission to the authorities are commandments of God; Romans 13:17.

(The Church obeys the laws of the country provided these are not contrary to the
laws of God; Acts 4:19 and Acts 5:29).48

The reference to laws that are contrary to Gods law seems to refer to moral
issues such as divorce, abortion, homosexuality and euthanasia.49
For a long time, Romans 13 has been the main reference for the ADs politi-
cal ethics, which has made them welcome supporters of the military regime
(196485). They even substituted, in part, Catholics, as faithful clients of the
government.50 Accordingly, as they were seen to be harmless, they could pur-
sue their evangelistic work unhindered and, indeed, experienced considerable
growth from the 1960s onwards. Precisely through their access to the poorest of
the poor, Pentecostal churches were important allies of the government.
Nevertheless, there were Pentecostals who joined social movements. Com-
munist Francisco Julio sought the support of the os Bblia (Bible folk) for his
Ligas Camponesas (Rural Leagues); for instance, with the following words: You
are the oppressed religion. The farmers also are being oppressed. Why dont
you join us? You can sing your hymns, recite your extracts from the Great
Prophets and we work together. Take a Bible and Ill go with the Civil Code.51
Julio quoted prophets like Isaiah; his call was answered by some Pentecostals,
many of whom were sugarcane cutters. Ironically, this resulted in the military
regime issuing a warrant of arrest against a certain Isaiah, which they under-
stood to be a communist terrorist codename.52
Pentecostals emphasize, in the irst place, individual salvation and healing,
and there is a strong distinction between the church as the congregation of the
faithful and the world. The theology of liberation is often rejected because it
is said to claim, falsely, that human beings are, in fact, capable of changing

48)
Information obtained from <http:www.ad.org.br/ad/a_nossa8.asp> [accessed on 22 June 2007].
Unfortunately, this link is no longer active.
49)
See Rodrigo Gonalves Majewski, Pentecostalismo e reconciliao: uma anlise do discurso
teolgico popular das Assemblias de Deus do Brasil a partir de suas revistas de escola dominical,
unpublished seminar paper for the MTh, EST, Brazil, 2008, p. 18 n. 58.
50)
See Chesnut, Born Again in Brazil and R. Andrew Chesnut, The Salvation Army or the Armys
Salvation? Pentecostal Politics in Amazonian Brazil 19621992, Luso-Brazilian Review, 36:2 (1999),
3349.
51)
Francisco Julio, as cited by Franciso Cartaxo Rolim, Pentecostalismo. Brasil e Amrica Latina
(Petrpolis: Vozes, 1995), p. 68.
52)
I thank my former doctoral student Antonio Carlos Teles da Silva for this information, which
he noted during a lecture from the time.
 R. von Sinner / International Journal of Public Theology 6 (2012) 99117 113

themselves and the world.53 There are, however, glimpses of an instance of a

full gospel; caring and catering for the whole human being and not only for his
or her soul, even if the preaching of the Gospel, for the salvation of the sinner,
comes irst.54 Soares, in his Sunday lessons on Gods justice in Romans, rein-
forces this stating that the activity of the Church is oriented towards two
directions: verticaladoration, spiritual activities; horizontalto serve ones
neighbour, philanthropic and social activities.55 Practising charity is important
given that most of the ADs members come from among the poor, although
there is less emphasis on this aspect than in other churches. Love for the neigh-
bour is emphasized in Sunday school, for instance, while focusing on the par-
able of the Good Samaritan. A book published in 1996 insists that A true revival
will bring back to the Brazilian believer love for the nearly ifty million compa-
triot brothers who live in absolute poverty.56 There are even claims that
Romans 13 is a generic text and does not speak of the legitimacy or not of the
instituted government, thus opening up the possibility of resisting illegitimate
governments, without, however, deining them.57 AD ethicist Renovato afirms
that as citizens of heaven, Christians already have their legitimate representa-
tive, who is the Holy Spirit. As Christians of the earth, we need to influence the
nations destinies.58
Pentecostal churches have an enormous potential for mobilization, more
than any other organization. Their faithful go regularly to church (eighty-ive
per cent compared to less than eighteen per cent of Catholics),59 not only on
a Sunday, but also during the week. They have greater than average Latin

53)
See Arajo, Dicionrio, p. 55 and extensively Abrao de Almeida, Teologia contempornea:
A influncia das correntes teolgicas e ilosicas na Igreja, 6th edn. (Rio de Janeiro: CPAD, 2005),
pp. 201362.
54)
Antnio Gilberto, Lies Bblicas. Sal e Luz: as marcas do cristo atual (Rio de Janeiro: CPAD,
1996), p. 63. The full gospel normally refers to the gifts of the Spirit, whose rediscovery is said to
have reestablished the Gospel in its entirety (see Arajo, Dicionrio, p. 325). Here, however, social
works are included.
55)
Esequias Soares, Lies Bblicas: Romanos: o evangelho da justia de Deus (Rio de Janeiro:
CPAD, 1998), p. 62.
56)
J. Armando Cmaco, Um grito pela vida da igreja (Rio de Janeiro: CPAD, 1996), p. 87.
57)
Eliezer Lira, Lies Bblicas: Mestre. Salvao e justiicao: os pilares da f crist (Rio de Janeiro:
CPAD, 2006), p. 69.
58)
Elionaldo Renovato, Lies Bblicas. tica crist: confrontando as questes morais (Rio de
Janeiro: CPAD, 2002), p. 60.
59)
Rubem Csar Fernandes, Privado porm pblico. O terceiro setor na Amrica Latina (Rio de
Janeiro: CPAD, 1994), p. 179.
114 R. von Sinner / International Journal of Public Theology 6 (2012) 99117

American participation in organizations of civil society, although most of them

are, probably, run by the church.
Another important aspect is highlighted by Marco Davi de Oliveira, the son
of a black Pentecostal minister, who quite rightly calls Pentecostalism the
blackest religion of Brazil. Of course, in absolute numbers, more black persons
are Catholics than anything else, but in the Pentecostal churches, according to
the 2000 census, there are nearly as many blacks as whites, if one includes the
so called pardo (mixed-race) population. Speciically in the AD, there is even a
slight majority of blacks, probably because of its northern and north-eastern
origins, where black people are much more strongly present than in the south
(ifty-four per cent or around 5.4 million persons).60
The right to property and prosperity is recognized in Pentecostalism, but
there is also a considerable amount of attention given to mordomia (steward-
ship); in other words, God is the Lord of all creation, and humans are to be its
stewards, which means that they are to use their goods in a responsible way
and to care for the environment. Thus, believers are to care for body, soul and
spirit in a holistic stewardship.61
In terms of morality, as mentioned mainly in relation to issues of family and
gender, a certain movement has come into the AD. The 22nd General Conven-
tion of the AD in 1975 had reafirmed eight healthy principles established as
doctrine in Gods Wordthe Holy Bibleand preserved as customs since the
beginning of this work [the AD] in Brazil.62 Traditionally, for the AD, doctrine
and customs are the same, have the same standing and are part of their dis-
tinctives. A Commission preparing the ifth meeting of AD leaders (ELAD),
held in Rio de Janeiro in August 1999, insisted, however, on a difference
between doctrine and customs; while the former were seen as divine, general
and unchangeable, the latter were seen as human, local and temporary. The
commission thus changed the 1975 wording by leaving out as doctrine to read
only healthy principles established in Gods Wordthe Holy Bibleand pre-
served as customs, moderating the language and inserting biblical references.
The new wording was also more moderate in content; rather than prohibiting

60)
Marco Davi de Oliveira, A religio mais negra do Brasil. Por que mais de oito milhes de negros
so pentecostais (So Paulo: Mundo Christo, 2004), p. 34.
61)
See Elionai Cabral, Lies bblicas. Mordomia crist: servindo a Deus com excelncia (Rio de
Janeiro: CPAD, 2003).
62)
Information obtained from <http://www.cgdab.com.br/sobreCgadb/posicaoSobre/usosCostumes
.html> [accessed 22 June 2007]. Unfortunately, this link is no longer active.
 R. von Sinner / International Journal of Public Theology 6 (2012) 99117 115

all make-up, only exaggerated use came under scrutiny. Likewise, the use of
TV and other media is no longer totally forbidden, but only its bad use. Other
items are maintained, like the prohibition of alcoholic and intoxicating bever-
ages. This aggiornamento in terms of behaviour is accompanied by an inter-
esting argument that wants to steer clear of losing the ADs identity, expressed
through its customs, as well as absolutizing it. Thus, the document separates
salvation by faith (alone) from such customs, while it recognizes that religious
convictions are personal and, if there are different denominations with differ-
ent customs (for instance in terms of women having to wear a veil or not), it is
held to be because God wanted it so. This sounds surprisingly ecumenical,
although it only refers to a debate among Pentecostals and with neo-Pentecos-
tal churches, and, at the same time, it sounds characteristically Protestant with
its emphasis on salvation (justiication) by faith alone. Not without a certain
pride, the document emphasizes, using the sociologists terminology, in self-
description stating: We are classical [sic] Pentecostals, i.e. we are models for
others, [and] it is them who should learn from the Assemblies of God and not
we from them inasmuch as Pentecostal doctrine is concerned, which refers
critically to AD pastors who think the IURDs techniques should be copied and
that doctrine and customs prevent the church from growing.63

Citizenship, Escapism and Dominance

In sum, an ambivalent image emerges. The AD maintain a conservative dis-
course, in moral affairs often aligned with or close to the Roman Catholic
Church. Differently from the latter, however, the AD is astonishingly silent
wherever social issues are concerned. Even so, they have fostered the election
of brothers into political bodies since the 1980s, and individuals have been
engaged in church-related institutions or secular social movements, neigh-
bourhood associations and so on. The congregations of the AD have worked as
catalysts for the formation of citizens who have learned to see themselves as
human beings entitled to dignity and respect; they were empowered to express
this in their way of believing and worshiping, as much as in their attitudes,
clothes, practices and action, including the leadership functions of their
congregations and beyond. As we have seen, the contribution of the AD

63)
Information obtained from <http://www.cgdab.com.br/sobreCgadb/posicaoSobre/usosCostumes.
html> [accessed on 22 June 2007], p. 4. Unfortunately, this link is no longer active. See also Arajo,
Dicionrio, pp. 8846.
116 R. von Sinner / International Journal of Public Theology 6 (2012) 99117

towards citizenship is less theoretical and barely explicit in discourse; how-

ever, sociological studies conirm that they make a very important practical
contribution. First, the faithful are empowered to (re)discover their own sense
of dignity. Secondly, AD members are illed with power by the Holy Spirit and
thus empowered, independently of their colour, gender, social origin or any
other feature; they are all receivers and bearers of the Holy Spirit. Thirdly, peo-
ple in the AD can learn to acquire and exercise leadership skills, both within
and outside the church, which also helps them professionally. Fourthly, AD
members take responsibility for their own life and their families lives and ind
possibilities to break out from dependency on alcohol or drugs, as well as from
crime and prison dynamics. Fifthly, AD congregations submit to a principle
of legality rather than to hierarchy (even though such hierarchy exists and
clearly concentrates and controls power), so that fallible pastors and church-
nominated politicians are submitted equally to the same law as the faithful,
and they have to live up to it.
Until democratization, the strongly growing and, as shown, increasingly
publicly-present Pentecostal churches have widely abided by the principle
that the faithful dont mingle with politics. Similar tendencies to escapism or
to a clear dualism between religion and politics, in which the latter is certainly
seen as a dubitable, dirty business or, at most, a necessary evil, can also be
found in historical churches of an evangelical kind, such as the Presbyterian
Church of Brazil. Empirically, of course, this does not mean a complete absti-
nence from political participation; however, it is only since the Constituent
Assembly that there has been a more strongly organized political activity of
Pentecostal and neo-Pentecostal churches of which the largest is the AD and
the most visible is the IURD. Actively sending church members into political
parties and parliaments has succeeded in various degrees. In particular, the
world is no longer merely rejected by Pentecostalism; it is seen and used as a
place for the assertion of pretensions. Empirically, this shift in Pentecostal
political activity could be described as the emerging of public religion.64 Pub-
lic theology, at least as I understand it, has, in contrast, a reflective, orienting,
encouraging and, at the same time, restricting function. Such a function of

See the classic by Jos Casanova, Public Religions in the Modern World (Chicago: University of
64)

Chicago Press, 1994).

 R. von Sinner / International Journal of Public Theology 6 (2012) 99117 117

orientation is necessary to prevent Pentecostals (as religious communities

in general) from both escapism and a behaviour of dominance.65 In my view,
the AD can be shown to have the potential for another type of contribution;
that is, a critical and constructive public theology.

On this see Rudolf von Sinner, The Churches and Democracy in Brazil, pt 3; R. von Sinner,
65)

Public Theology in the Brazilian Context, in Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, Florian Hhne and
Tobias Reitmeier, eds, Contextuality and Intercontextuality in Public Theology (Mnster: LIT,
forthcoming).