Catholic Activism: Actors, Networks and Repertoires of Action

• Grant number: 24/16006-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Start date: August 15, 2025
• End date: May 29, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Anthropology - Urban Anthropology
• Principal Investigator: Lilian Maria Pinto Sales
• Grantee: Lilian Maria Pinto Sales
• Host Investigator: Celine Beraud
• Host Institution: Escola de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (EFLCH). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Guarulhos. Guarulhos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: École Des Hautes Études En Sciences Sociales, France
• Associated research grant: 21/14038-6 - Religious pluralism and diversities in post-constituent Brazil, AP.TEM

Abstract

This research project will investigate the strategies and repertoires of action recently incorporated by Catholic anti-gender activism and opposition to sexual and reproductive rights, which occurs in parallel and is related to the (re)emergence and visibility of traditionalist Catholic groups. Traditionalist groups have incorporated anti-abortion and anti-gender activism among their targets for combating modernity and are seeking for means of expression in the public space by carrying out anti-gender campaigns and demonstrations, held in different countries with a Catholic tradition. We hypothesize the existence of a transnational Catholic traditionalist network that contributes to the specific configuration of contemporary anti-abortion and anti-gender activism. Our intention is to begin mapping this network, identifying its characteristics and the elements that circulate within it, taking as an empirical starting point the manifestations and rituals of French traditionalist Catholic movements.