Adultos na fé: os rituais de passagem de católicos e presbiterianos e o posicionamento dos iniciados em relação ao sincretismo religioso

Abstract

This Master´s thesis compares Catholic and Presbyterian churches identity construction processes and the socialization up each of these churches in order to identify the influence of these factors on Catholic and Presbyterian faithfull s attitudes toward religious syncretism. A person is considered as a member of Catholic church if receives Catholic sacraments. This sacramental identity values more the enchantment aspect of faith over the intellectual, also it plays down the faithfull s intellectual adherence to church dogma. In contrast, in Protestantism a church identity is defined in intellectual terms. To be a member of a church is to confess the doctrine defined as right by this church. In addition, organizational differences of the Catholic and Presbyterian churches seem to affect these distinct identity construction processes. Due to its ability to include in a same huge unity a large diversity of being religious, the Catholic Church can be classified as a igreja de massa (or church for the mass while the Prebyterian church organization can be identified as igreja de quadros (or church for leadership ). Smaller, more inflexible toward diversity than Catholic Church, the Presbyterian one indoctrinates their members within the church through Bible Sunday School. In order to understand the sociability and religious education processes in each church, I choose to research two preparatory study groups for similar rites of passage: the ritual of Confirmation , for the Catholic case, and the ritual of Public Profession of Faith , for the Presbyterian. Both can be identified as iniciation rituals because both dramatize the passage of the faithful from Spiritual childhood to Spiritual maturity. Once being adult in faith, both catholics and presbyterians must, acording to their institucional views, repudiate religious syncretism, because one cannot serve two Masters . Would religious syncrestim rejections in fact occur equally in both churches? If not, what differs catholics from presbyterians? These are questions I intend to answer.