Temp(l)os de cura: as metáforas de cura na construção das identidades da Assembléia de Deus no Brasil.

Abstract

This dissertation aims at investigating the discursive and non-discursive practices within the discourse on healing in the Assembly of God (AG) church. In order to achieve such goal, it w i ll be examined the lifestyle and habits developed by the leaders of the Assemblies of God in Brazil which have been transmitted to its members throughout the years. It w i l l be analyzed their costumes which were created and introduced in their community in order to "separate them from the world" and help them in the process of sanctification, purification and maintenance of spiritual hygiene. It w i l l also be studied the metaphors about healing which have an outstanding role in the practices of this religious group and that contribute to their submission to the moral and ethic pattern of AG. The longing for spiritual, emotional and physical health promotes a desire for self-care that builds identities in the Assembly of God locus. The "holy" body is presented here as the hanger and anchor o f such identities which are built, molded and taught. The main sources of this research are the testimonies of the leaders and members of AG, as well as their literature, song lyrics and documents.