Kingdoms Come

At a time when scholars are beginning to think about the political implications of grass roots religion around the world, Kingdoms Come explores the "popular religions" in Brazil. Rowan Ireland examines the three main religious traditions at the grass roots in Brazil--folk Catholicism, Protestant pentecostalism and Afro-Brazilian spiritism--and traces the contrasting definitions of political problems that arise from these spiritual cultures. Ireland argues that different religions are predisposed toward distinct patterns of acceptance or rejection of political paradigms--such as rural bossism, bureaucratic authoritarianism, or communalism--and, more controversially, that the different paradigms are actually constructed in living out popular religions. One of the most valuable features of this book is its discovery of the range of responses found in each of the various Brazilian religious phenomena. For example, one type of Protestant pentecostalism predisposes believers to endorse civilian and military authoritarianism, while another rejects the claims of national security regimes and local bosses. Similar differences exist in the other religions. In the past, scholars assumed that each Brazilian religious movement produced a single, unambiguous response; Kindgdoms Come demonstrates that this is not the case. Ireland also shows how the various religious movements competing for the allegiance of Latin Americans can affect political culture. By a close analysis of these movements, he proves that, in each of the various traditions, there are streams that foster a deepening of Brazil's rather shallow democracy. Ireland's original method of examining national political issues through local community and biographical case studies will be of interest not only to Latin Americanists but to all who study the making of political culture and the living of religious traditions.