Santos e Espírito Santo, ou católicos e evangélicos na Amazônia marajoara

Abstract

The presence of Christian evangelicals in the Marajó Region of Integration is not recent; it dates from the turn of the 20th century, but only in the last two decades has there been what may be called an expansion of their presence. This expansion is evident from a statistical analysis of censuses of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics – IBGE, from 1991 and 2000 and from incursions in the field between 2005 and 2010. The increase in the number of evangelicals in a traditionally Catholic region has mobilized the Catholic Church into improving its performance in the local religious “marketplace”. To understand the fabric of the relationships between Catholics and evangelicals as well as between evangelicals and other evangelicals was the objective proposed in this research project. The field data indicates that the Catholic Church has used the advance of Pentecostalism in the region as an argument to effect some changes within its sphere, particularly in regards to the feasts of the saints, as much in the cities of Marajó as in the capital, Belém do Pará. On the other hand, the evangelicals have been working hard to affirm themselves as a strong religious group, and have concerned themselves, in market terms, much more with their “brothers” of other denominations than with the Catholic Church itself.