Vasconcelos de Castro Moreira, Leonardo (2019) The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in Madrid: a church without borders. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

This research explores the activities of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) in Madrid, the capital of Spain. The UCKG is a Brazilian Pentecostal church with temples in various countries worldwide, so it seemed relevant to begin by analysing this religious institution’s cultural background and transnational character. Thus, I observed the arrival of the UCKG in Spain and its controversies in the public sphere, which are relevant for outsiders to understand the church’s practices and the creation of internal bonds. Conducting fieldwork at the church headquarters in Madrid, I also investigated and examined the practices with commentaries about the regular activities and the most common elements in the gatherings of members and pastors. With examples of testimonials and member interviews, I tried to observe the two main branches of the church’s theology as demonstrated in Madrid, prosperity theology and the spiritual battle against Satan, by analysing specific themes such as financial sacrifice, exorcisms and the creation of the ‘other’. Afterwards, my main concern was with the ways that the UCKG controlled its members. Furthermore, while noting all the changes that the church brings to its members, I tried to conceptualize the church in a middle ground between the works of Emile Durkheim and Max Weber, as interpreted by Antonio Flávio Pierucci. There are no boundaries in the UCKG in Madrid between the social changes observed by Weber and the consolidation of a sense of belonging studied by Durkheim.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BL Religion B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BR Christianity
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus, Pentecostalism -- Brazil, Transnationalism -- Religious aspects, Spiritual warfare
Official Date:	January 2019
Dates:	Date Event January 2019 UNSPECIFIED
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Sociology
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Blencowe, Claire, 1981- ; Fuller, Steve, 1959-
Format of File:	pdf
Extent:	214 leaves
Language:	eng

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