O que nos dizem as estórias dos que saíram: análise socioantropológica de narrativas biográficas de ex-membros da Assembléia de Deus.

Abstract

The main objective of this work is to analyze the stories of subjects expelled from religious communities in general and specifically from the Assembly of God (AD), focusing on the processes of stigmatization and their classification as deviants. The theoretical perspective combines the concept of “deviance” formulated by Becker and those of “stigma” and “social mortification”, as proposed by Goffman. The research methodology combined the mobilization of the author's biographical narrative, with the strategy of eliciting the biographical narratives of 8 individuals who left the AD, as well as conducting semi-structured interviews with them,taking into account variables such as gender, sexual orientation, permanence in the religious community, type of congregations/communities they participated in and reason for leaving or being expelled from the institution. Among the main conclusions of the research, we highlight the following: (1) the narratives of the members who left the AD point to the activation of stigmatization processes and the construction of “divergent” subjects as “deviants”; (2) The elements that are most repeated in the collected and analyzed narratives were the experiences of stigmatization and discrimination of the subjects who present characteristics considered disqualifying for social interactions within the HC, expressed through disapproving looks, loss of positions held in the community and “rumors” (comments); and (3) Among the most frequent complaints presented by the former members interviewed are the difficulties arising from the friction between social identity and real identity, abandonment and rejection by family members and former brothers “in the faith”.