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#131 Catholic Base Communities, Spiritist Groups, and the Deepening of Democracy in Brazil

By Rowan Ireland

Abstract

Despite abertura and the elections of November 15, 1982, there must be doubts about the depth of democracy in Brazil. Over the last 50 years, whether in authoritarian or populist democratic periods, the Brazilian State has firmly dominated civil society. Civil society will become relatively stronger, in part, when and if intermediate groups develop at the grassroots. Intermediate groups are groups in which values, needs, and aspirations are rehearsed and articulated independently of State agencies and the hegemony of the ruling elites.

But where are such groups to be found at the grassroots in Brazil? This paper examines two types of religious groups which probably account for the majority of grassroots aggregations for which a prima facie case might be made for their being intermediate groups. These grassroots aggregations are the CEBs--the grassroots ecclesial communities of the Catholic Church-- and the various Afro-Brazilian cults. The paper assesses the evidence concerning the functioning of these aggregations. That evidence is drawn from case studies, including the author's own case study of the religions encountered in a town of northeast Brazil. On the basis of the evidence, it is concluded that some  CEBs do indeed function as intermediate groups, although they are fragile. The Afro-Brazilian cults are found to differ remarkably among themselves. Some function as instruments of ruling-elite hegemony; but others, probably a minority, possess the features of intermediate groups.

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