Religião, política e comunidade: emergência e politização do Movimento da Boa Nova

Abstract

The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) disseminated novel conceptions of religious practices which influenced the Catholicism in Latin America. Under this influence, Movimento da Boa Nova (Mobon, acronym in Portuguese) emerged, a movement which is focused on providing courses to laypeople about the Bible and Catholicism, forming local leaderships and encouraging them to organize their communities. In the 1980s, Mobon’s layperson leaderships got involved in the militancy of Sindicato dos Trabalhadores Rurais and partisan politics, supporting especially Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT, acronym in Portuguese for “workers’ party”). This study analysed how the politicisation process of Mobon occurred. We aimed to understand how a religious group emerged as constitutors of the syndicate of rural workers and the chapter of PT in Minas Gerais in the 1980s. We also aimed to unravel how the courses provided by Mobon led to important political changes. The involvement among laypeople and Mobon’s missionaries and local parish priests was essential for the latter to take on political causes. The ability for organization and mobilisation exhibited by Mobon popularised and strengthened this movement, making possible its influence on the political field. The activities of religious leaderships in syndicates and politics did not result in interruption of their religious activities, but did result in religious mobilisation for social changes