Christianity of liberation, prosperity theology, and perspectives of class struggle in Brazil

Abstract

This text synthesizes the onset, development, and collapse of Christianity of Liberation in its relationship with the working class. When the Vatican qualified the liberation theology as heresy in 1984, the space occupied by the Christian Base Communities (Comunidades Eclesiais de Base) became dominated by a new segment, attracting more underprivileged people to their religious business ventures. For this reason, this paper will analyze the educational role played by the Christian Base Communities in setting up and organizing the working masses and as a consequence of their reflux, which is concomitant with the processes of pentecostalization in Brazilian Christianity. Since then, the masses have been faced with a crossroads posed by the growth of (neo) pentecostal religions in a consortium with the prosperity theology as popular and union movements are refluxing.