The Living Christ in the Civilization: Protestantism and Public Space in Brazil (1930-1932)

Abstract

This article analyses the official report produced by the 11th World Convention of Sunday Schools that took place in Rio de Janeiro in 1932. The report reveals the protestant world (European, North American, Latin American and Brazilian) in the beginning of the 1930’s, its speeches, its practices and its views of the world. The senses and meanings that protestants gave to political actions, to education and to civilization can be understood from the context that included a period between wars, the crises of the European imperialism and a civil war in Brazil. The Convention held in Rio de Janeiro represented a demonstration of political strength Brazilian protestants had in the provisional government of Getúlio Vargas, who became the president through the Revolution of 1930, getting closer to the Catholic Church and establishing other routes for the society. Therefore, this article is a historical analysis of a document, in a period of time, influenced by multiple forces and which opened new ways for the protestant presence in the public space, in politics, in the culture, and in the Brazilian religious field.