The Influence of Social Class on Activity Preferences of Comunidades Eclesiais de Base (CEBs) in the Archdiocese of São Paulo

Abstract

A number of interpretations have recently emerged which attempt to explain the nature and sociopolitical implications of Roman Catholic base Christian communities (CEBs) in Brazil. Most studies have tended to describe these small, informal lay groups as a predominantly lower-class phenomenon which is facilitating the self-liberation of the poor from the weight of centuries-old political and economic oppression.

Religion and the Consolidation of Democracy in Brazil: The Role of the Comunidades Eclesiais de Base (CEBs)

“…The 1988 research also suggests that levels of intragroup heterogeneity and conflict, noted in previous studies to be hampering CEB effectiveness in the political sphere (see Hewitt, 1986), are diminishing. This becomes apparent if we examine changes in group members' attitudes and behavior over the previous four years within those more advanced groups specifically involved in the revindicaq&s. These numbered six in 1984, and eight in 1988.…”

“…One study conducted after the 1982 general elections in Brazil (see Hewitt, 1983) showed no correlation between areas of CEB concentration and the election of PT members to federal or state legislatures. In the city of Rio de Janeiro, for example, PT members running in more affluent areas were justas likely to be elected as those in less affluent ones with much higher CEB concentrations.…”

“…A major problem with this vision, however, is that it is simply not rooted in solid social scientific research. Studies by Bruneau (1982), Hewitt (1986Hewitt ( , 1987, and even the Church itself (see CNBB, 1977) have shown the CEBs to be far more heterogeneous in terms of organization and purpose than the liberationist literature allows. Further, the conception of the CEBs' present and future role that liberationists have developed is extremely vague.…”

“…One last interpretation, proposed by the author (see Hewitt, 1988), was formulated as a corrective to liberationist and other views of the CEBs' societal role. Based upon survey and participant observation research on 22 CEBs sampled on a stratified random basis from within the Archdiocese of Sgo Paulo in 1984, this interpretation suggests that the primary benefk of the CEBs is the contribution that they make to the establishment of a sense of citizenship, primarily among lower-class participants.…”

“…The Church as an institution has returned to previous modes of political influence and appears to be abandoning its support for grassroots movements in favor of direct pressure on political policy makers. These tendencies have been elaborated to some extent by Mainwaring (1986) and more exhaustively by Hewitt (1989), and are painfully evident to all and sundry through reports appearing daily in the Brazilian press (see, for example, "Crescimento dos padres ruralistas," 1988; "Miss~o da Igreja › religiosa e n~o polŸ afirmara novos cardeais," 1988). The reasons offered to explain the shifts in orientation and practice exhibited on the part of the Brazilian Church are many and varied.…”