Citation

Adriance M. Sociol. Relig. 1994; 55(2): 163-178.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1994, Association for the Sociology of Religion)

DOI

10.2307/3711855

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

There is evidence in northern Brazil of a direct relationship between base ecclesial communities and activism for agrarian reform. This article presents the results of field research that demonstrates this relationship. The theoretical analysis combines structural and interpretative frameworks, using the synthesis of the theories of Marx and Weber found in Otto Maduro's work, supplemented by that of Gramsci, in order to place the study of religiously influenced change within the broader political-economic context. Qualitative data are drawn from forty-nine interviews conducted in eight rural parishes in the states of Maranhão and Parà. The subjects included thirty-eight lay members of base communities, most of whom are also members of rural unions, and eleven pastoral agents--four religious sisters, four priests, and three lay church workers. These interviews reveal the links between the church and agrarian activism. The article concludes with a discussion of the prospect for the continuation of such links.