RELIGION, VIOLENCE AND POLICY IN BRAZIL are we in a Democracy or in a State of Exception?

Abstract

Despite the advances we can see in the Brazilian New Republic regarding human rights, including minority rights, as well as diffuse rights, there is, in the context of democracy itself, the rise of political discourses and proposals ultra-conservative, notoriously also backed by religious movements of a moralistic character. Is this an atypical, anachronistic phenomenon, disconnected from Brazil's power structures? Or is it just one of the most revealing faces, perhaps, of the way in which politics and economy are constituted in this country, and which has gained enormous visibility in recent times, extending the podium of national institutional politics by having, as its representative, the President of the Republic himself? Does the non-dialogical character of this form of politics, based on intolerance and sectarianism, indicate an anomaly in the Brazilian political tradition or demonstrates, without any qualms, the authoritarian and violent character of our state and our political, social and economic elites? In the context of political theology, this article intends to investigate the relations between religion, violence and politics in Brazil, understanding that we are still very far from a de facto democratic condition.