Abstract
ABSTRACT The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) is a Brazilian Pentecostal church known for its incessant struggle against the Devil. Internationalisation has challenged the Church’s institutional discourse against evil, which originally targeted the local spirits of its home country—specifically Afro-Brazilian entities—during exorcism rituals. This article uses interviews and participant observation to analyse the differences between UCKG exorcisms in Brazil and Madrid. The data indicate that demonic spirits are more secularised in Spain, where they no longer belong to the pantheon of rival religions in Brazil. In Madrid, UCKG demons are more closely aligned with problems of everyday life, such as the health and wealth of Church members. In this analysis of UCKG demonology in Madrid, I also observe how the dialogue between institutional discourse and local beliefs arises, while also assessing its impact on exorcism performances.
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