Assim na terra como no céu. o evangelicalismo pós-cristão brasileiro e o protestantismo periférico na disputa pela dignidade humana

Abstract

This research investigates the role of Brazilian evangelicalism both as an instrument for the maintenance of domination structures and, simultaneously, as a space of resistance against modern hegemonies, situating modernity as a Eurocentric civilisational project sustained by an exclusionary and hierarchical rationality. From a decolonial standpoint, grounded in thinkers such as Aníbal Quijano and Enrique Dussel, the study critically analyses the historical, political, and philosophical processes that articulate post-Christian Brazilian evangelicalism with modernity, neoliberalism, and conservatism as interconnected projects of global domination. The research addresses the transformation in the relationship between human beings and power in modernity, highlighting the contributions of modern philosophers and sociologists in shaping the content of neoliberal and neoconservative discourses. It is argued that, when universalised, principles such as freedom and autonomy ultimately obscure structural inequalities, particularly in the Global South. In this context, neoliberalism is examined as a pervasive rationality that reinforces social hierarchies and disregards the cultural and political resistances emanating from the Global South, while neoconservatism legitimises these structures by articulating religious and moral values in defence of hegemonic power models. In the Brazilian context, the recent impact of Olavo de Carvalho on contemporary conservatism is discussed, highlighting how his critique of globalism and cultural Marxism has shaped political and cultural discourses. This is the sociocultural environment in which Brazilian post-Christian evangelicalism has emerged. Conversely, counter-hegemonic messianic evangelicalism—rooted in reinterpretations of primitive Christianity as developed by liberation, Black, feminist, queer, and Latin American theologies—presents itself as a radical critique of capitalist and Eurocentric structures, promoting epistemic plurality and social justice within the theological field of Christianity. The analysis of decolonial theologies foregrounds the body as a locus of resistance and emancipation, challenging the Cartesian dichotomy between body and spirit. Racialised, feminine and queer bodies—frequently subalternised by the coloniality of power—are re-signified as bearers of transformative knowledges within a decolonial theology forged at the intersection of liberation hermeneutics. The present work was undertaken through the integrative literature review method for document selection. Content analysis and discourse analysis techniques were employed in the first phase, followed by a Dusselian hermeneutic analysis grounded in the liberation ethics of the Argentine philosopher and theologian. Based on Dussel, Quijano and Panotto, it is argued that these decolonial theologies foster emancipatory practices and contest structural inequalities, contributing to the promotion of a new social consciousness in contemporary Brazil.