De volta à “família da fé”: uma análise de processos de reinserção de desviados na Assembléia de Deus Belém - Caruaru, PE.

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes, in a sociological perspective, the experience of people who, having strayed from the Assembly of God Bethlehem church in Caruaru-PE, returned to that church and insert themselves again in the community. We try to understand what happens in the return process of these ex-diverted to the church like, analyzing their reasons for returning; the return institutional rituals; the difficulties that those returning members face in the old/new context in which they fight for acceptation and the relationship between permanent members and diverted returners. Using the concept of "stigma" and the metaphor of the social drama by Erving Goffman, we examined the efforts of diverted returners to represent their roles in order to convince the permanent members about their new conversion, and, therefore, to be fully received into the church and have their privileges back. And, besides that, we try to understand the identity formation of the Assembly of God Bethlehem Church followers on theological aspect and its implications for their social experience, which helps us to understand some aspects of the diverted Returner trajectories.