Abstract
Despite the obvious connection between conservative Christian leaders and Bolsonaro, from his electoral campaign to the formation of his administration, religious agency in Brazilian politics goes beyond a mere conservative register. This article seeks to trace various dimensions of the trajectory made by evangelicals in Brazilian politics as a tipping factor in the emergence of a new protagonism of religious actors in politics. It discusses how the emergence of evangelicals as public actors has included different ideological and practical expressions, as well as internal disputes and ventures some remarks on whither current trends point to as Bolsonaro’s government makes room for the evangelical right but sparks reactions and rearticulations from various forms of evangelical progressives.
Highlights
Recent decades have witnessed the emergence of a highly active and self-driven religious minority as a political actor in Brazil, the socalled evangelicals1
Evangelical politics is a case of minoritisation, that is, not so much the mere existence and visibility of a numerical minority, but a process through which, in the contemporary world, we have witnessed a proliferation of minority groups or actors, which have challenged definitions of national identity, as well as the narrow spaces for participation and political representation that such cultural, ethnic, linguistic, sexual, religious minorities have experienced in many parts of the world
From politico-institutional to ecclesial and everyday life, disputes arose around questions of health care, gender violence, racism, political participation, leading to the creation of a deliberately organised movement throughout the country from left-wing and radical evangelicals to get people elected for city councils or even having candidates who are running for mayor or mayoral positions
Summary
Recent decades have witnessed the emergence of a highly active and self-driven religious minority as a political actor in Brazil, the socalled evangelicals1. The Evangelical/Pentecostal rise from minoritarian to hegemonic politics Several markers point to the process of emergence.
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