“A faith without works is a dead faith”: on intimacy, engagement and commitment in the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in Maputo
This article aims to reveal the engagement regimes of young members of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (IURD) in Maputo, southern Mozambique. Based on field data collected between 2014 and 2015, it was possible to identify a set of practices and techniques that aimed to promote integratio...
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| Formato: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2024 |
| País: | Brasil |
| Recursos: | Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) |
| Repositorio: | Ciencias Sociales y Religión (Online) |
| Idioma: | portugués |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:ojs.periodicos.sbu.unicamp.br:article/8673872 |
| Acesso em linha: | https://periodicos.sbu.unicamp.br/ojs/index.php/csr/article/view/8673872 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palavra-chave: | Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus Moçambique Religião vivida Membro engajado Universal Church of the Kingdom of God Mozambique Lived Religion Committed member Iglesia Universal del Reino de Dios Religión vivida Miembro comprometido |
| Resumo: | This article aims to reveal the engagement regimes of young members of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (IURD) in Maputo, southern Mozambique. Based on field data collected between 2014 and 2015, it was possible to identify a set of practices and techniques that aimed to promote integration between the body of believers and the Holy Spirit, and, at the same time, the expansion of the church throughout the city. This search for "communion with God" provided members with tools to reinterpret the setbacks of life and the search for prosperity based on religious belonging, but required, in return, that they be willing to transform their "faith into works," intervening in the reality around them. In light of the concept of performance, I demonstrate that this set of activities was carried out by an ideal type of member, the engaged member, committed to three fundamental activities: going to church, seeking God, and making a commitment. I argue, in the end, that believer performativity is intrinsically linked to a form of intervention in the world that articulates body and spirit, individual and collective, religious and political practices in a project of change that aims to transform themselves, but also contributes to a greater public presence of Brazilian Pentecostalism in Mozambique. |
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