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Description
The Battle Among the Gods explores the evolving relationship between religion and national identity in Brazil, tracing its roots from the messianic figure of Antônio Conselheiro and the Canudos community, through the transformative era of Liberation Theology, to the contemporary rise of evangelical influence and far-right politics. Grounded in two key intellectual traditions: Brazilian critical thought (Antônio Candido, Roberto Schwarz, Paulo Arantes) and Latin American Liberation Theology (Hugo Assmann, Pablo Richard, Franz Hinkelammert), this book offers a unique analytical synthesis. It interrogates how literary, theological, and political forms shape and reflect the experience of spiritual conflict in a fractured society. As Brazil becomes a global focal point for the interplay of faith and authoritarianism, this book provides essential insight into how religious movements help construct political identities and agendas. It reveals the shared roots between progressive and reactionary religious politics, offering a critical lens on the global resurgence of spiritually framed far-right ideologies. This title is an essential read for scholars of political theology, Latin American studies, religious studies, and contemporary politics, The Battle Among the Gods reframes our understanding of religion's role in the modern political imagination, both in Brazil and beyond.
Chapter 1. Two Canoes and a Storm.- Chapter 2. The Apocalyptic Counselo.- Chapter 3. Presuppositions of Liberation Theology.- Chapter 4. What Remains of Liberation Theology?.- Chapter 5. From Liberation Theology to Ecotheology.- Chapter 6. The Others of Ecumenism.- Chapter 7. The Misplaced Jesus: Reception of Black Theology in Brazil.- Chapter 8. It is the King Who Rules this Nation.- Chapter 9. Who's Afraid of Evangelical Progressivism?.- Chapter 10. Left and Right in the Mirror of Evangelicals.- Chapter 11. The Resentment of the Integrated.- Chapter 12. Roots of Brazil Reawakened.- Chapter 13. Singing the Apocalypse in Two Movements.- Chapter 14. About the Battle among the Gods.
André Castro was born in Petrolina, a city on the border between Pernambuco and Bahia in Brazil, and grew up within the world of evangelical Christianity. His upbringing was marked by the contrast between his Pentecostal mother s faith and his Reformed father s beliefs two traditions that shaped how he came to understand religion, politics, and everyday life. This early exposure led him to study theology, in search of tools to make sense of the religious environment that had always surrounded him.
During his studies, Castro encountered the work of Rubem Alves, a central figure in Brazilian Liberation Theology. Inspired by Alves, he initially sought to continue in that tradition, even writing a book on the history of Protestant Liberation Theology in Brazil. Over time, however, he began to question whether this theology could still speak to the challenges of contemporary Brazilian society. This reflection marked a turning point in his academic path.
His perspective shifted further through engagement with the work of Paulo Arantes and the broader tradition of Brazilian critical thought. Arantes s writings led Castro to rethink the role of theology not as a framework to apply to society, but as something shaped by historical and social experience. That shift forms the foundation of his book The Battle Among the Gods, which explores how the decline of Liberation Theology and the rise of far-right evangelical politics in Brazil are part of the same historical process.
Today, Castro s work focuses on the intersection of theology, literature, and politics in Latin America. He remains committed to understanding how religious beliefs shape, and are shaped by, political life and national identity.
