BRITO, E. A.; http://lattes.cnpq.br/4487699977139023; BRITO, Elizabete Alves.
Abstract:
In this dissertation we focus on the representations of practices involving money in
religious communities, constructed by participants from three selected religious
segments: Candomblé and Umbanda terreiros; traditional and charismatic Catholic
parishes; and neo-Pentecostal communities, specifically from the Verbo da Vida church,
all located in the municipality of Campina Grande, Paraíba. The theoretical perspective
combined contributions from Marcel Mauss's gift theory and Simmel's reflections on the
mediating role played by money in social interactions. In terms of methodology, we
selected for this study participants from each religiosity subfield, among ordinary
members and leaders, with whom we conducted semi-structured interviews. Still as a
methodological strategy, we carried out direct observation through systematic visits to
the selected communities. Among the main conclusions of the research, we highlight: (1)
is recurrent in the three religious cultural systems studied, a functional representation of
circulation, capture and encouragement for the faithful to deliver the tithe and make
offerings. Practices of donating monetary values are justified by their function of
providing for the operational needs of religious communities; (2) money appears
represented as a means to mediate relations between faithful and faithful and between
these and the deities of each model of religiosity. Thus, money is seen as a gift to be
received both by the community and by the deity(s), who reciprocate in terms of
'blessings', 'graces' achieved; (3) in the interviews we found a friction between the
representations of money as being necessary for communities and not necessary for
deities, which points to the euphemistic character that surrounds money and the interest
it represents in religious communities, as well as in other activities, such as, for example,
the production of knowledge/science and art.
