A nova face da religiosidade na sociedade contemporânea : Um estudo de caso na Igreja Assembléia de Deus de Monteiro-PB.

Abstract

The present study aims to investigate the increasing number of non-conformist Christians in Brazil, specifically in the town of Monteiro, the State of Paraíba. The first part of the work brings statistic data from the 2012 Demographic Census (carried out by the official Brazilian Institute of Statistics - IBGE), that evidenced this increase. Theories from sociologists like Durkheim (1996), Weber (2004), Berger (1996), Velho (1998), were used to define and understand the significance of religion and religious manifestations in society. The research is based upon a case study of the Pentecostal church Assembleia de Deus (Assemblies of God) in Monteiro that, according to reports, experienced a considerate growth in the number of followers during the past ten years. The analyses of the results from the questionnaires and interviews show that the main reasons for this growing tendency are to be found in the very organization of the church – liturgy, the order of service, the pastor´s preaching and the praise – and the common current in this context: the Theology of Prosperity.