Reviewing the experience of professional programs in the of Religious Studies and Theology area/CAPES in Brazil

Abstract

The research was developed considering the debate on the specificity of the Professional Post-Graduate Studies in the area of Religion and Theology, of Capes (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher-Level Personnel), an organ that in the Brazilian Ministry of Education follows and evaluates the National Post-Graduate Studies System (SNPG). The main objective of the analyses made was to build a panorama of issues around the work done by the professional master courses, including the results achieved by them, added to a list of aspects that have been identified as challenging for the deepening and improvement of these practices as well as the perspectives that are opened for this modality of Graduate Studies in Brazil.  Methodologically, we group the data analysis in two moments. The first presents, in summary, a history of Professional Postgraduate Studies in the Sciences of Religion and Theology Area, with emphasis on the set of motivations and objectives that led the Ministry of Education and CAPES to implement the modality of Professional Programs in the country. In particular, the reflection focuses on the vision of a professional practice centered on applied procedures and processes, aiming at the solution of problems that emerge from social reality. The second moment highlights (i) conceptual aspects about the importance of applied research, especially the decolonization task to be developed in the academic environment, (ii) the contribution of the areas and sub-areas of the Knowledge Tree, especially the " “Applied Religious Studies" and the "Practical Theology", (iii) the value of the technical production and the specificity of the Coursework for the Professional Graduation, (iv) the potentialities and limits of the modular structure for the offer of the curricular credits and (v) the profile of the egress in this modality.