Ethnic congregations are often considered safe havens for immigrants. This is supported by a large body of literature showing that many religious congregations in diasporic contexts help immigrants maintain their ethnic group identity and cohesion, build social capital, and adapt more smoothly to life in an unfamiliar society. The role of ethnic congregations in the lives of immigrants is, however, complex and multifaceted, and some recent research suggests that, in some ways, these congregations may inhibit their adaptation to the larger society and arouse tensions among the very immigrant communities they intend to help. In light of these varying observations, we seek to explore the functions—and potential dysfunctions—that ethnic congregations have among Brazilians who have immigrated to central Texas. Using data drawn in 2013 from participant observation and 16 in-depth interviews conducted in two Brazilian evangelical congregations, we find that respondents perceive that their congregations strengthen their feelings of attachment to Brazilian culture and language and foster the development of social capital within to the Brazilian immigrant community. At the same time, however, some respondents acknowledge that church members can become overly dependent on their congregations and isolated from the larger society, leaving them susceptible to potential exploitation at the hands of more established co-ethnics within the congregation.

This article seeks to analyze the reactions and responses of three churches of the Brazilian diaspora in Florida, United States, to the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on sermons posted on YouTube and Facebook in March, April, and May, we argue that Brazilian immigrant churches in Florida reacted to the pandemic in civil, theological, practical ways. We begin by providing a general introduction to evangelicalism in the United States and its influence in Brazilian evangelical life to give a historically sound background to the study. We also present the story of Brazilian migration to the United States. Then, we analyze the content posted in social media by pastors and churches of the Brazilian diaspora in the United States and other church leaders to ascertain their position regarding the responses to the COVID-19 crisis. Results show the churches responded to the pandemic in three primary ways: they adhered to authorities' guidelines, provided sermons with apocalyptic undertones, and organized food pantries and donations for members in need.

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Em 2016, a PNAD publicou dados acerca do crescimento populacional no Brasil. Naquele ano, a pesquisa revelou que não apenas a população brasileira ultrapassara a marca dos 200 milhões de habitantes, como também o número de pardos e pretos havia crescido (de 45,3% para 46,7% e de 7,4% para 8,2%, respectivamente). A população branca, por outro lado, havia decrescido numericamente de 46,6% para 44,2%. Explicações para tais percentuais normalmente encontram respaldo no aumento da fecundidade entre pessoas negras e no reconhecimento da negritude como fator de orgulho (Silveira, 2017) quanto a questões sobre a "tendência da miscigenação…" (Saraiva, 2017). Seriam, porém, apenas esses os fatores que influíram na mudança na autodeclaração racial dos brasileiros?

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