| Religion and Brazilian Democracy: Mobilizing the People of God Contributor(s): Smith, Amy Erica (Author) |
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ISBN: 1108482112 ISBN-13: 9781108482110 Publisher: Cambridge University Press OUR PRICE: $114.00 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: May 2019 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Political Science | American Government - General |
| Dewey: 261.709 |
| LCCN: 2018045104 |
| Series: Cambridge Studies in Social Theory, Religion and Politics |
| Physical Information: 0.7" H x 9.3" W x 9.3" (0.90 lbs) 222 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: As Brazilian democracy faces a crisis of legitimacy, political divisions grow among Catholic, evangelical, and non-religious citizens. What has caused religious polarization in Brazilian politics? Does religious politics shore up or undermine democracy? Religion and Brazilian Democracy: Mobilizing the People of God uses engaging anecdotes and draws on a wealth of data from surveys and survey experiments with clergy, citizens, and legislators, to explain the causes and consequences of Brazil's 'culture wars'. Though political parties create culture war conflict in established democracies, in Brazil's weak party system religious leaders instead drive divisions. Clergy leverage legislative and electoral politics strategically to promote their own theological goals and to help their religious groups compete. In the process, they often lead politicians and congregants. Ultimately, religious politics pushes Brazilian politics rightward and further fragments parties. Yet Religion and Brazilian Democracy also demonstrates that clergy-led politics stabilizes Brazilian democracy and enhances representation. |
Contributor Bio(s): Smith, Amy Erica: - Amy Erica Smith is associate professor of political science at Iowa State University. Smith's research has attracted funding from the National Science Foundation, Fulbright, Mellon, and Templeton, and the Award for Early Achievement in Research at Iowa State University. Her work on democracy in developing countries has appeared in top political science journals and in the Portuguese-language book, Legitimidade e qualidade da democracia no Brasil: Uma visão da cidadania (2011; with Lucio Rennó, Matthew Layton, and Frederico Batista Pereira). |
