Religious Leaders in Politics: Rio de Janeiro Under the Mayor-Bishop in the Times of the Pandemic
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THEMATIC PAPERS
Religious Leaders in Politics: Rio de Janeiro Under the Mayor-Bishop in the Times of the Pandemic Liderança religiosa na política: Rio de Janeiro do bispo-prefeito nos tempos da pandemia Renata Siuda-Ambroziak 1,2
& Joana
Bahia 2
Received: 21 September 2020 / Accepted: 24 September 2020/ # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract The authors discuss the phenomenon of religious and political leadership focusing on Bishop Marcelo Crivella from the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (IURD), the current mayor of the city of Rio de Janeiro, in the context of the political involvement of his religious institution and the beginnings of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the article, selected concepts of leadership are applied in the background of the theories of a religious field, existential security, and the market theory of religion, to analyze the case of the IURD leadership political involvement and bishop/mayor Crivella’s city management before and during the pandemic, in order to show how his office constitutes an important part of the strategies of growth implemented by the IURD charismatic leader Edir Macedo, the founder and the head of this religious institution and, at the same time, Crivella’s uncle. The authors prove how Crivella’s policies mingle the religious and the political according to Macedo’s political alliances at the federal level, in order to strengthen the church and assure its political influence. Keywords Religion . Politics . Leadership . Rio de Janeiro . COVID-19 . Pandemic Palavras-chave Religião . Política . Liderança . Rio de Janeiro . COVID-19 . Pandemia The original acronym in Portuguese Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus (IURD) will be used throughout the text.
* Renata Siuda-Ambroziak [email protected] Joana Bahia [email protected]
1
Institute of the Americas and Europe, American Studies Center, University of Warsaw (UW), Warsaw, Poland
2
State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
International Journal of Latin American Religions
Introduction The COVID-19 has become the main global issue of 2020. Reducing its effects on people, social relations, and economic sector not only has turned into a major challenge for any political leader but also has reminded of the existing limitations in terms of human capacity and organizational structures, making strong and weak points in leadership styles and crisis management much more visible. At the same time, the epidemic has been also used for exacerbating political games in many countries, including Brazil, with politicians building new electorate bases, changing allies, or actively defending their position. In such difficult circumstances, the demand for leadership addressed simultaneously to minds and emotions has become clear—belief in the powers, charisma, and sometimes almost magical forces of many leaders has become more than perceivable, and the emotions have been overflowing from religious sphere onto the political one and vice versa. Religiosity, sensibility, imagination, and the faith in miracles s
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