No abstract

This chapter presents the results of the first research on representations of gods in Brazil, within the context of the Children’s Drawings of Gods project. Brazil is a country of continental dimensions. It is also marked by a strong, predominantly Christian, religious scene. We collected data in the city of São Paulo, the largest and most urbanized city in the country, and in the Guajajara indigenous village in Maranhão, one of the less developed states. Our findings show a large number of representations influenced by Christianity (e.g., anthropomorphic representations of god). Anthromorphic representations appear across the entire sample, but were more prevalent in the children of São Paulo. Among the Guajajaras, there was a greater incidence of non-anthropomorphic representations of god, including animistic representations. The children of São Paulo employed a larger repertoire of representations than the Guajajaras children did. The data presented in this exploratory study reflect a small, convenience sample; they do not represent the Brazilian population as a whole. We suggest that further studies with other groups, religions, and ages. Exploration of the representations of gods in Brazil is still in its infancy; the country promises to be a very fertile field for future research.