Pilgrimage and Patronage in Brazil: A Paradigm for Social Relations and Religious Diversity

The cult of saints & pilgrimage in Brazil are discussed, using ethnographic data collected in a field study conducted at the end of the 1980s & beginning of the 1990s. The patron-client relation between the pilgrim & the saint, who is the destination of the pilgrimage, is investigated in...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:Luso-Brazilian review 2006, Vol.43 (2), p.63-89
Hauptverfasser: Greenfield, Sidney M, Cavalcante, Antonio Mourão
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:Volltext
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:The cult of saints & pilgrimage in Brazil are discussed, using ethnographic data collected in a field study conducted at the end of the 1980s & beginning of the 1990s. The patron-client relation between the pilgrim & the saint, who is the destination of the pilgrimage, is investigated in an analysis of the behavior & experiences by several participants in the pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint Francis of Assisi in Caninde, Ceara State, Brazil. Data support Daniel Gross's (1971) thesis that the power asymmetry between the worshiper & the saint in the religious sphere resembles the patron-client relation in the secular world. The religious market place in contemporary Brazil, where the dominance of Catholicism is challenged by many alternative faiths & religious practices, is characterized. The importance of research in religious pilgrimage to the sociology of religion is stressed, arguing that pilgrimage may be viewed as a paradigm for modeling social relations. References. Z. Dubiel
ISSN:0024-7413
1548-9957
1548-9957
DOI:10.1353/lbr.2007.0006