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This article analyzes the trajectory of the diagnostic category 'Religious or Spiritual Problem', included in 1994 in the 4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the main diagnostic manual of North American psychiatry. Three moments of this trajectory are highlighted here: the beginning with transpersonal psychology, the debate around its inclusion in the DSM-IV, and the mobilization of the category in psychiatric research about spirituality in Brazil. Drawing on an array of material gathered through archival, bibliographical, and ethnographic research, I point out that the trajectory of 'Religious or Spiritual Problem' mirrors the shifts in spirituality scholarly debates in social sciences, from New Age practices to their institutionalized forms. Although psychiatry is known to historically pathologize religious or spiritual experience, I argue that the mobilization of such category acts toward legitimizing contemporary psychiatric research about spirituality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the relationship between religion and cinema, highlighting that films explore and interpret symbols, myths, rituals, and religious doctrines. There is no established category of "religious films," but the absence of this classification offers opportunities for study for those interested in the relationship between religion and cinema. The text also explores the similarities between the religious and cinematic experience, highlighting how commercial cinema can play a role similar to that of religion in consumer society. Additionally, important filmmakers who see cinema as a form of spiritual quest are mentioned. The article emphasizes the lack of academic studies on the relationship between religion and cinema in Brazil and highlights the importance of initiatives that explore this relationship in a more systematic way. [Extracted from the article]

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In the history of Christianity - inits different doctrines and denominations - in Brazil, the contribution of non-priests, called lay leaders, is extensive and rich. This article reflects on the performance of these important religious agents in the spread of Protestantism through Ceará backwoods in the first decades of the twentieth century and how this performance contributed to the configuration of a singular religious experience through approximations, adjustments and conflicts between popular Catholicism and Presbyterian doctrine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of people unhappy with the usual practice of religious institutions has increased significantly in Brazil, throughout recent decades. In the Brazilian religious scenario, the Christian churches are those that feel the impact of this phenomenon most strongly. Along with this discontentment, the disaffiliations occur. More and more people abandon traditional religious institutions and experiences and seek, in one way or another, to regularize their religiosity or spirituality. Some of these people may be viewed as without institution, some as without religion. This thesis intends to listen to some of these people and to understand at what extent a non-religious spirituality is forming in the pilgrimage of the current Brazilian society. Due to the relevance of these characters in the Brazilian religious context, the phenomenon of non-religion is the object of study of the present research, and the theme developed is non-religious spirituality. That being said, the purpose of this study is to analyze and interpret the phenomenon of non-religion in Brazil, through a representative sample of the universe, in order to build an essay on non-religious spirituality in contemporary times. To accomplish this goal, the thesis is developed through three methodological procedures. Initially, we analyze quantitative data about the demographic profile of the nonreligious in Brazil. Then, data collected from a field research entitled The Word of the Unreligious are examined and interpreted. Subsequently, the study enters a more theoretical path, which uses authors congruent to the thematic of nonreligious spirituality. Because it encompasses three research techniques, the method chosen for the development of the present thesis is a mixed method approach, notably an explanatory sequential project. The essay culminates with the idea that from the experience of Brazilians who claim to have no religion, a nonreligious spirituality is forming, albeit quite incipiently. However, in order not to be restricted to the result of the analysis and interpretation of field data, the present study concludes with three conceptions of non-religious spirituality, in order to stimulate not the end, but the continuity of reflection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1 Franklin Ferreira Seminário Martin Bucer Jonathan Edwards Center Brazil In this meeting that celebrates the global reception of Jonathan Edwards, considered "the greatest philosopher-theologian yet to grace the American scene", 2 born in this country 316 years ago, I would like to summarize the reception of Edwards and his writings in Brazil. 5 And in the mid 50s, the Pentecostals of "divine healings" arose, and the icons of that movement in Brazil were the Igreja do Evangelho Quadrangular [Church of the Foursquare Gospel] (1951), O Brasil Para Cristo [Brazil for Christ] (1955), and, especially, a church named Deus é Amor [God is Love] (1962). Their main representative groups in Brazil are the Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus [Universal Church of God's Kingdom] (1977), the Igreja Internacional da Graça de Deus [God's Grace International Church] (1980) and Igreja Mundial do Poder de Deus [World Church of God's Power] (1998). [Extracted from the article]

This paper aims to analyze the meaning of one's body within the religious experience of some enslaved people abducted from Central Africa, who lived in Pernambuco, during the 1630s, through the analytical reading of two texts written on that period by Zacharias Wagener, a European traveler who lived in that region. It aims to demonstrate that the motion (movement) of their bodies, described in such texts, was connected to their abilities to transcend, overcoming suffering, and building meaningful lives. This was possible through the reinterpretation of some elements found in their original Central African religious traditions, transplanted to Brazil, which contributed to the survival and alternative understanding, in this colonial territory, of the religious inheritance from their birthplace continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article compares the available data on religions of Brazilian journalists with general characteristics of religiosity in the population, based on data presented in Brazilian journalist's profile of 2012 and the Brazilian national census of 2010. The objective is to understand if particularities of the religious experience among journalists can have effects on the coverage of this subject. The issue is relevant because of the sociopolitical and economic consequences of recent changes in religiosity in the country. The data indicate three striking differences among journalists: a) more significant presence of non-practitioners and atheists; b) significantly less participation of Catholics and Evangelicals; and c) greater expressiveness of Spiritists and practitioners of religions of African origin. The text raises the hypothesis that these differences, along with other factors, can explain phenomena such as the relative inattention of journalistic coverage to the growth of the neo-Pentecostal population in the country and the generally positive approaches that spiritism received from the media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brazilian churches long for revival, but many are afraid of it because of the abuses. Brazilian Presbyterian churches were planted by American missionaries, so we ask our mother: Please, tell us about your revivals, so that we may learn something from it for today. North American Presbyterianism passed through the period of the "Great Awakening" (1739-1745). The Lord used godly men as reformed Theodore Freylinghuysen, Presbyterian William Tennent (and sons), Congregational Jonathan Edwards and Anglican George Whitefield to bring the churches to their knees, many converts into the fold and deep reformation of society. But tensions arose because of coldness and mockery of the "Old Side" traditionalists and of radicalism and farisaism of the "New Side" revivalists. Many churches split. The presbyterian schism lasted for 17 years (1741-1758). Reunion became possible under the pressure of common suffering during the Indian wars, but was possible because both sides were more humble. Traditionalists recognized that pastoral candidates do need a personal religious experience and that God had given many true conversions in the other churches. Revivalists confessed that their tongues had not always been baptized and that they needed more spiritual discernment. The apparent cause of the vigorous New Side growth was probably their great mission effort. The deepest cause of the "withering of the old branch" was probably the lack of discipline among their ministers. Today our churches may need a "Day of Renewal of the Covenant," praying with rev. Samuel Davies of the Hanover Presbytery (1750): "Almighty grace, my soul inspire, and touch my lips with heavenly fire!" [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]