Modos de subjetivação e demandas de cura nas igrejas neopentecostais : a ética do sexo, poder e dinheiro

Abstract

This study analyzes the modes of subjectification and the demand for cures which arise and flourish within the following two neo-Pentecostal churches, the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God and the International Church of the Grace of God. It also seeks to investigate the sexual, power and monetary ethics in these same churches. The neo- Pentecostal churches are based upon some fundamental characteristics such as ; a spiritual war against the devil, the Theology of Prosperity, the overcoming of the generally accepted practices and customs of sanctity, a big business structure and great media utilization. The demand for cures is presented as a mental strategy or power which gives rise to modes of subjectification. These modes which are present in the neo-Pentecostal churches delimit the constitution of the individual in the light of a causality relationship between faith and ethics. On the one hand, the demand for cures is potentiated by the faith experience and on the other hand, ethical imperatives mould and limit the conditions necessary for the subjectification process of the believer. Sex, power and money are seen as ethical dispositions that seek to deny the helplessness of the human condition. When an individual adopts these stratagems to overcome his helplessness, he seeks imaginary solutions which arise from narcissistic positions. When taken as a mark of human identity, helplessness is seen as a link between neo-Pentecostalism and a masochistic condition. Neo- Pentecostal religious discourse delimits a universe of personal realization and pure happiness and exacts an anthropology in which the individual is ruled by the logic of subjugation. He becomes more than a victim in the sense that he clings to religious promises which are impossible to fulfill. The masochistic condition arises from a desire to overcome the experience of human helplessness.