Religion and Brazilian Democracy
Mobilizing the People of God

Evangelical and Catholic groups are transforming Brazilian politics. This book asks why, and what the consequences are for democracy.

Amy Erica Smith (Author)

9781108482110, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 28 March 2019

222 pages, 28 b/w illus.
23.5 x 15.7 x 1.7 cm, 0.44 kg

'Amy Erica Smith's book is unique, original and, in the Brazilian context above all, extremely timely. Combining multiple databases with qualitative observation, this is both an impressive technical achievement and an invaluable contribution to international debates about the implications of religious partisanship for democratic coexistence.' David Lehmann, University of Cambridge and author of Struggle for the Spirit: Religious Transformation and Popular Culture in Brazil and Latin America

As Brazilian democracy faces a crisis of legitimacy, political divisions grow among Catholic, evangelical, and non-religious citizens. What has caused religious polarization in Brazilian politics? Does religious politics shore up or undermine democracy? Religion and Brazilian Democracy: Mobilizing the People of God uses engaging anecdotes and draws on a wealth of data from surveys and survey experiments with clergy, citizens, and legislators, to explain the causes and consequences of Brazil's 'culture wars'. Though political parties create culture war conflict in established democracies, in Brazil's weak party system religious leaders instead drive divisions. Clergy leverage legislative and electoral politics strategically to promote their own theological goals and to help their religious groups compete. In the process, they often lead politicians and congregants. Ultimately, religious politics pushes Brazilian politics rightward and further fragments parties. Yet Religion and Brazilian Democracy also demonstrates that clergy-led politics stabilizes Brazilian democracy and enhances representation.

Part I. Introduction: 1. Introduction
2. Clergy, congregants, and religious politicians
3. Methods and case studies
Part II. What Clergy Think, Say, and Do: 4. What clergy think and say: religious teachings and political views
5. What clergy do: encouraging partisan and electoral politics
Part III. How Congregants Respond: 6. Church influence on citizens' policy views and partisanship
7. Church influence on voting behavior
8. Church influence on citizen support for democracy
Part IV. Representation: 9. The representational triangle
10. Conclusion: mobilizing the people of God.

Subject Areas: Comparative politics [JPB], Politics & government [JP], Hispanic & Latino studies [JFSL4]