Religion as a Social Substitute for the State: Faith-Based Social Action in Twenty-First Century Brazil (abstract)
- This article is a translation of:
- Le religieux comme suppléant social de l’Etat : l’action sociale confessionnelle dans le Brésil du XXIe siècle [fr]
Abstract
Dynamic and pluralist religion plays a vital role in development in contemporary Brazil. As advisors that supplement and, occasionally, even substitute for a state bureaucracy absent or overwhelmed in many vulnerable areas, Brazilian religious organisations are once again becoming the favoured partners of the state. This reconfiguration is taking place under markedly different conditions than in the colonial era, when the throne and the altar worked together in an intimate relationship. Since then, successive constitutions have imposed the legal separation of politics and religion. On a social level, however, the two spheres today appear dedicated to cooperation. This chapter analyses the current tendency of the Brazilian government to ‘contract’ an increasing number of religious entities to deliver and manage many of its social development responsibilities in ‘public-religious partnerships’. In light of this trend, the time has come to reconsider the historical relationship between the state and the Church(es) in Brazil, a phenomenon currently characterised by the advent of a ‘supplemental secularism’.
Index terms
Thematic keywords:
economic | development history, Faith-based organisations, health, public private partnership (PPP), religion, secularismGeographic keywords:
BrazilEditors' notes
Paperback reference : Mourier, E. (2013) "Religion as a Social Substitute for the State: Faith-Based Social Action in Twenty-First Century Brazil", in International Development Policy: Religion and Development, No.4, Geneva: Graduate Institute Publications, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 79-94.
Cite this article
Bibliographical reference
Eliott Mourier, “Religion as a Social Substitute for the State: Faith-Based Social Action in Twenty-First Century Brazil (abstract)”, International Development Policy | Revue internationale de politique de développement, 4 | 2013, 79-94.
Electronic reference
Eliott Mourier, “Religion as a Social Substitute for the State: Faith-Based Social Action in Twenty-First Century Brazil (abstract)”, International Development Policy | Revue internationale de politique de développement [Online], 4 | 2013, Online since 14 February 2013, connection on 07 September 2024. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/poldev/1391; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/poldev.1391
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