Chesnut Born Again

RA Chesnut, Born Again in Brazil: The Pentecostal Boom and the Pathogens of Poverty, (London: Rutgers University Press, 1997)

The Preconversion World of Illness
“Crentes divide their life history into three moments: preconversion, conversion and postconversion.”1 51
points to the fact that neither Catholicism, through its association with Carnival and feasts, and Umbanda with the consumption of liquor in terreiros offer much spiritual aid for the alcoholic.258
Refers to a “male prestige complex” expressed for example in sexual conquests.3 60
widespread nature of violence in Brazilian society “it is the violence of the street reproduced inside the walls of the house that sends shantytown dwellers, mainly women, in search of the peace of sanctuary.”4 62
note use of “postmodern Pentecostal churches” preferred to “neo-Pentecostal”.5 65
“Beyond the walls of the academy, atheism is a foreign concept in Brazil.”6 67
Utilitarian approach to religion in Brazil, “poor clients attach themselves to a divine patrão who provides protection and occasional miracles in exchange for ritual acts of sacrifice.”7 67 Pagar promessa: “supplicants promise to “pay” for the aid performing a ritual act of sacrifice, normally a procession or pilgrimage.”8 68
Pentecostal women who had previously gone to a terreiro usually went their searching for healing, men often also went searching for employment.9 70
“Umbanda provides no definite moral code by which followers should live. Similarly, the Catholic church, as a civil religion, fails to create a world apart, where believers can stand in opposition to a pathogenic society that robs them of their human potential and dignity.”10 71