Occupying New Spaces: the “Digital Turn” of Afro-Brazilian Religions During the Covid-19 Outbreak
This paper intends to analyze how Afro-Brazilian religious minorities (like Candomblé and Umbanda) are responding to the Covid-19 crisis in Brazil both at a religious and political level. Drawing a comparison between the reactions of Neo-Pentecostal churches and Afro-Brazilian religions, we will des...
| Published in: | International journal of Latin American religions |
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| Authors: | ; |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Springer International Publishing
[2020]
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| In: |
International journal of Latin American religions
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Brazil
/ COVID-19 (Disease)
/ Pandemic
/ Afro-Brazilian cult
/ Digitalization
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| RelBib Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy AG Religious life; material religion AZ New religious movements KBR Latin America ZG Media studies; Digital media; Communication studies |
| Further subjects: | B
religion and media
B Covid-19 B Neo-pentecostalism B body and religion B Afro-Brazilian religions |
| Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (Resolving-System) |
| Summary: | This paper intends to analyze how Afro-Brazilian religious minorities (like Candomblé and Umbanda) are responding to the Covid-19 crisis in Brazil both at a religious and political level. Drawing a comparison between the reactions of Neo-Pentecostal churches and Afro-Brazilian religions, we will describe how the pandemic outbreak and the social distancing measures allowed Afro-religious practitioners to occupy new online spaces. In doing so, these religions found new modalities of practising rituals and transmitting sacred knowledge in the digital world. Despite the fundamental importance of bodily engagement in these religious expressions, Candomblé and Umbanda practitioners are increasing their presence online through producing different types of pedagogical, educational and ritual contents. While on the one hand, this new content aims at promoting social distancing and sanitary precautionary measures, on the other hand, it involves a restructuring of the dynamics of legitimation and power that are present in Afro-religious social structures. We will analyze these changing dynamics as consequences of the “crisis of the body” that resulted from the lockdown measures. |
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| ISSN: | 2509-9965 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: International journal of Latin American religions
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1007/s41603-020-00121-3 |