Magia na Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus e sua eficácia entre o simbolismo e a performance.

Abstract

This dissertation aims to present and analyze the beliefs of the members of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) in the magic objects, in which they make use of on the public places of their churches and in the private space of their houses based on their experiences, manipulation and effectiveness of these objects. This study also presents and analyzes the UCKG pastors’, bishops’ and church workers’ performance during the liturgy of their services and during these magic objects manipulation rituals and when they conduct their faith “campaigns” and the financial “sacrifices” for God. To this end, it was used two theoretical perspectives: the symbolist one, based on the theory of magic and its practices, through the contribution of some classic authors, such as Marcel Mauss, Lévi-Strauss and Frazer; And the performance theory, having Schechner, Taussig, Benjamin, Csordas and Turner as the main theoretical framework. The systematic observation of the rituals in the UCKG services and interviews with the believers were used as a strategy to collect data. The ethnography was also used as a methodological resource both in conducting this research and in producing this work. The research sought to understand to what extent the manipulation and use of the magic objects brought about some kind of change in the lives of the UCKG believers and provided some cure, miracle or “deliverance” for them.