Banca de DEFESA: ANDRÉ DE SOUZA SOARES

Uma banca de DEFESA de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : ANDRÉ DE SOUZA SOARES
DATE: 05/03/2026
TIME: 14:00
LOCAL: Meet - Online
TITLE:

"WHERE IS THAT LITTLE CHURCH NOW?": Bolsonarism and Cyberactivism in the Assembly of God

KEY WORDS:

Assembly of God, Conservatism, Far-Right Political Culture, Cyberspace, Bolsonarism.

PAGES: 370
BIG AREA: Ciências Humanas
AREA: História
SUMMARY:

This study aims to analyze the construction of a far-right political culture within the Assembly of God Evangelical Churches (AD), particularly those affiliated with the General Convention of the Assemblies of God in Brazil (CGADB), its largest branch. It examines a militant conservatism that, among other aspects, expressed support for the military dictatorship (1964-1985) and later the adherence of some of its members to the global wave of far-right politics from the second to the third decade of the 21st century. For this survey, I utilized official AD literature, primarily the Mensageiro da Paz newspaper and the Lições Bíblicas handbook, which bear markers of an editorial stance that, during this period, echoed the same themes, agendas, and political interests as the Brazilian far-right. In this sense, I point out that certain trends and concerns within the Assemblies' communicative culture aligned with preferences common to the far-right mainstream between 2016 and 2022. I demonstrate signs of an adherence by affinity that contributed to building a reactionary political culture ideologically identified with the rise of Jair Messias Bolsonaro. Drawing on theoretical frameworks from Pierre Bourdieu's (1981; 2004) political and religious fields, Michel de Certeau's (1994) practices of space, and referencing Paul Freston's (1993) research on the relationship between Protestantism and politics, I discuss how the maintenance of sectarian characteristics institutionalized by the AD was co-opted by leaders to strain and manufacture an identification with Brazilian far-right conservatism. I present the invention of a Bolsonarist "Sebastianism" and a cyber-activism practiced by Assemblies pastor Elinaldo Renovato de Lima, who faced two lawsuits for using cyberspace to disseminate fake news during the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 electoral campaign. These cases had significant repercussions among Assemblies members nationwide, given the leader's prominence in this religious segment. Simultaneously, I address the projection of this cyber-activism and institutional proselytism onto the official CGADB networks, the institutional action Cidadania AD Brasil, and its reproduction on the Assembleianos de Valor page, a profile that became a bastion of Assemblies Bolsonarism on social media. The research contributes to academic debate, among other concerns: the development of a preferential political culture encouraged by religious leaders and its interference in democratic processes; the partisan use of the AD church with engagement in cyberspace; how these actions can harm the proper appropriation of the right to religious freedom; and how the abuse of religious power can threaten the exercise of citizenship.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Externo à Instituição - CARLOS ANDRÉ SILVA DE MOURA
Externo à Instituição - DILTON CÂNDIDO MAYNARD
Interna - 3216927 - FABIULA SEVILHA DE SOUZA
Presidente - 2277360 - MAGNO FRANCISCO DE JESUS SANTOS
Interno - 1280374 - RENATO AMADO PEIXOTO
Externa à Instituição - SAMANTHA VIZ QUADRAT