Pandemic Religion in Brazil—Temptation and Responsibility

Abstract

Religious incidence in Brazilian public space is a widespread fact that has been gaining new visibility in pandemic times. Responsibility in liminal situations represents specific theological hermeneutics, as well as what matters for the respective religious agents. Thus, based on a bibliographical review connected to an analysis of websites, this article aims to reflect on the current Brazilian context, the challenges to doing theology in Brazil today and points to some possible responses. “Pandemic religion”, as we call it, is the synthesis of theologies and religious practices that legitimise irresponsible approaches to life, vulnerabilising the other instead of assuming care-based ethics. Firstly, we briefly describe current theological trends, followed by an analysis of the Brazilian scenario by way of three representative scenes of public religious incidence that reflect a lack of responsibility in view of the pandemic challenges caused by COVID-19. Subsequently, we look back into history for alternative responses to public health crises that required theological positioning. In a Brazilian perspective of a public theology, we finally reflect on a responsible ethics that may help respond to the current challenges, particularly for pandemic religion.

Immigrant pentecostalism in the emergence of the COVID-19 crisis: reactions and responses from the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in Berlin

“…p. 42). Likewise, other studies have indicated that Macedo continued demonology in relation to the COVID-19 virus (Serrão and Chaves 2020 , p. 246), insisting on keeping churches open as it would be worse for people to lose the protection of God than to be infected with the demonic virus (von Sinner and Zeferino 2022 ). Whether and to what extent Macedo wields interpretive authority over viruses and diseases in local churches abroad is what this article aims to explore.…”

“…In this context, the Brazilian Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) has been frequently addressed as a protagonist in the critique of measures to contain the COVID-19 virus in Brazil (Capponi 2020 ; Serrão and Chaves 2020 ; Yendell et al. 2021 ; Martins and Miletta 2021 ; von Sinner and Zeferino 2022 ).…”