Browsing by Subject "Spiritism"
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Item A transcendental mission : Spiritism and the revolutionary politics of Francisco I. Madero, 1900 – 1911(2013-05) Amoruso, Michael Benjamin; Tweed, Thomas A.This study argues that Francisco I. Madero, a Spiritist and the thirty-third President of Mexico, understood his political action as the earthly component of spiritual struggle. In Madero's correspondence, "spirit writings," and pseudonymous Spiritist publications, we find a prescriptive Spiritist vision, in which democracy represents a triumph of human's "higher nature" over the "base, selfish passions" of Porfirio Díaz and his regime. This prescriptive vision is both characteristic of Kardecist Spiritism, the transnational metaphysical movement influential in the Americas since the mid-nineteenth century, and the outward expression of an inner struggle, in which self-discipline, charity, and hard work are thought to calm one's "animal passions," and in so doing attract "higher spirits" that aid in spiritual development. While reserved in the public presentation of his religiosity, the documentary evidence suggests that for Madero, the democratic struggle had "transcendental" significance. Analyzing his published work alongside his personal and political biography in the period between 1900-1911, this study briefly considers this prescriptive Spiritist vision and the ways it inflected Madero's political action and accommodated changing political circumstance.Item Umbanda's relationship with the natural environment & religious intolerance(2021-05-07) Costa Kott, Alex; Crosson, J. Brent (Jonathan Brent)This work explores one of Brazil’s most important syncretic religion, Umbanda. The first chapter focuses on how Umbanda and umbandistas relate and interact with the natural environment in its various forms. One of the main themes of this section is the importance of the orixás for the religion’s relationship with nature. This chapter also explores: plant taxonomy in Umbanda, Umbanda’s National Sanctuary in the city of Santo André (SP), the establishment Umbanda’s Magna Carta in 2013, the appearance of political-partisan movements for African derived religions in Brazil, the use of sacred food offerings in Umbanda, and how Brazil’s process of urbanization has impacted how umbandistas interact with nature in midst of the Anthropocene. The second chapter explores how religious intolerance has been manifesting against indigenous and African religiosity. The first section of the chapter focuses on the history of how Catholicism has demonized indigenous and African spirituality. This chapter also explores: the Kingdom of Kongo’s process of Catholicization, the establishment of Zélio de Morães’ Tenda Espírita Nossa Senhora da Piedade in Cachoeiras de Macacu, Rio de Janeiro, and also the spread of religious intolerance through evangelization, televangelism, Kardecian Spiritism and Eurocentrism.