SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF SANCTITY: POPULAR SAINTS WITHIN THE STATE OF BAHIA

• Grant number: 13/11180-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: August 01, 2013
• End date: July 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Sociology - Other specific Sociologies
• Principal Investigator: José Reginaldo Prandi
• Grantee: Thiaquelliny Teixeira Pereira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Popular sanctification is a traditional practice which has existed since the beginning of the Christian era. Martyrs were the first ones to be sanctified, followed by the ascetics and the confessors; Different types of characters are currently sanctified. In southwestern Bahia, a state that stands out for its rich array of religions, there are three cases: Saint Leocadia,Saint Pedro Afonso and Saint Brother Antonio. They were all ordinary people, unskilled workers, who died unexpectedly between the late nineteenth and the early twentieth century. Such acts of sanctification are not under the control of institutionalized religions, the Church itself. They actually come under the popular religiosity category. In this non-sacralized religious context, this project aims to investigate the social construction of sanctity, which despite being an ancient and widespread practice, is still not clearly understood. The three saints in question are viewed as conclusive evidence of this study. In order to understand that process, this paper lies on the Sociology of Knowledge. The main hypothesis is that the social construction of holiness is a means by which Christians sanctify their lives.

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

PEREIRA, Thiaquelliny Teixeira. The social construction of the sanctity: popular saints in the interior of Bahia. 2017. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH/SBD) São Paulo.