Seminars

In the specific context of contemporary societies, the intersection of religion and politics reveals complex and deeply polarized spheres. Our sociological analysis highlights that Brazil's public domain is a contested arena, where religion and politics are not monolithic but, on the contrary, fractured and dynamic, influenced by external and global (American and European) forces and shifting local-national socio-political and religious alliances. In this country, the Christian element (Catholic and Protestant) and the ideological Identitarian movement play a fundamental role in mediating the relationship, in the public and private spheres (Habermas), between the State, civil society, and historically marginalized groups. The polarized progressist left-wing and the ultra-conservative right-wings situation reinforces the need to increase the struggle for a Brazilian national identity, based on ethnic-racial, cultural and religious plurality and, above all, the guarantee of full respect for human rights.

In this seminar, I will present the results of a series of seminars and conferences held at Columbia University and in Brazil since 2013 that show the potential benefits of cross-sector partnerships of public and private executives – such as mayors, philanthropists, and NGOs -- aimed at controlling corruption in the Brazilian cases. In one, for example, a privately funded Brazilian organization whose members provide philanthropic capital and private sector expertise helped a city government they partner to revise their financial practices, increase community outreach, and better use their public dollars to improve and expand critical community services, such as public health and education. This and other examples will be used to present the theoretical framework used in my bestselling book with Howard Buffett, Social Value Investing --which is applicable in most parts of the world.

Migration flows can favour religious participation as well as the spread of religions and transnational processes. In fact, religions can be a resource and a dynamic space for transnational migrants to reconfigure belonging, well-being and a “home” in a context of uncertainty, marginalisation and adversity. In Japan, Afro-Brazilian religions – particularly Umbanda and Quimbanda – spread and evolved with the arrival of Brazilian immigrants and transnational processes of flows of people, spirits, materialities, worldviews, values and affections. After coming to Japan, many Brazilians start practicing Afro-Brazilian religions or deepen their adherence, frequently motivated by a desire for support, healing, meaning, affection, and a caring community. The majority of Brazilian migrants in Japan are Japanese descendants and their families who came for economic reasons with the intention of returning to Brazil in the near future. However, many of them end up extending their stay or starting a “circular migration” process. They frequently deal with difficulties of adaptation, downward social mobility, economic problems, ongoing extensions of their plans to return to Brazil, lack of affection, family separation, loneliness, and uncertainty. In this scenario, Afro-Brazilian religions offer a caring and healing space, through relationships within the religious community and with the spiritual world, a worldview that allows to face suffering and hardships, the guidance of embodied spirits, and a variety of “affective technologies” such as rituals, prayers, chants, images and herbal baths. Focussing on the lived experiences of the practitioners of Afro-Brazilian religions in Japan, I analyse how Afro-Brazilian religions help people build meaningful relationships and networks of support; find a sense of “home” and a purpose in life; receive emotional support and a way to cope with anxiety and better adjust to the context of migration. I also look at how they provide meaning, healing, guidance, and support for traumas, everyday struggles, and the prorogation of life plans.

In December 2020, the northeastern Brazilian city of Salvador launched its climate plan, articulating a vision for a socially inclusive, green, resilient, and low-carbon Salvador by 2049. This target date celebrates the city’s 500th anniversary and commemorates Salvador as the first capital of the Portuguese colonial empire. Based on 24 months of anthropological research in Salvador’s São Bartolomeu Conservation Unit, this presentation foregrounds Candomblé (an Afro-Brazilian religion) as its practitioners navigate the socio-political and spatial flux brought on by Salvador’s climate transformations. I propose Afro-religious praxes as a lens for deepening our understanding of the impacts of state-led urban climate adaptation, mitigation and conservation projects. I show how these projects appropriate and marginalize Afro-religious praxes and also reveal how practitioners unsettle them through ecologically based ancestral relationships with spiritual entities, such as Orixás.

This talk is a reflection on an exhibition currently on display at the Grolier Club, where 100 Jewish illuminated manuscripts from the Jewish Theological Seminary’s collection are on display. Professor David Kraemer will explore what the books produced by Jewish communities through the ages teach us about their experiences in various diasporas. Jews have lived in homes around the world from antiquity to the present. What do the books they produced and what they said in those books teach us about the Jewish diaspora experience?

“Apocalypse in the Tropics” is a powerful new film that examines the rise of and political participation of Evangelicals in Brazil focusing on their role in the 2018 election of Jair Bolsonaro as President Brazil and their support of him in 2022 when he was defeated by Luis Inácio Lula da Silva. The film makes clear the influence of North American Evangelicals on the Brazilian movement, especially those who believe that they (as they define Christianity) should take over and run the seven major institutions of society, especially the government. They also believe they should do it by force if necessary. In Brazil, Bolsonaro was their God anointed president who, they, along with large numbers of other Brazilinas, contend was robbed of the presidency in the 2022 election. They joined, often leading, Bolsonaro’s other supporters in the January 8th failed coup attempt. The film has significant implications not just for Brazil but also for what is happening in the United States.