Transnational Phenomenon

OPTalkspodcast
Written By Open Plaza

Stephen Di Trolio Coakley talks to theologians Dr. Raimundo Barreto and Dr. João Chaves about the continued growth of Christian nationalism in Brazil, USA, and beyond

Screenshot from a video rendering of the provisional flag of the Republic of the United States of Brazil, flown 15–19 November 1889. Proposed by Brazilian jurist and abolitionist Ruy Barbosa, the flag design was inspired by that of the United States of America but ultimately vetoed for looking too similar to the flag of another country. Image: Lord Daine

 
 

In this episode of OP Talks, Stephen Di Trolio Coakley talks to theologians Dr. Raimundo Barreto and Dr. João Chaves about the rising strength of Evangelicals in Brazilian politics that led to the 2018 election of far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently locked in a runoff race with former left-wing president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The runoff election will take place at the end of October 2022.

Nearly a year ago, Dr. Barreto and Dr. Chaves published "Christian Nationalism is Thriving in Bolsonaro’s Brazil" in The Christian Century (18 November 2021). The article explores how Christian nationalism is not only a U.S. phenomenon but “particularly evident and virulent in Brazil,” and how the two countries’ phenomena are interconnected. Although Dr. Barreto and Dr. Chaves are interested in exploring the rise of "Messianic Bolsonarismo," they trace its cause as a transnational phenomenon.

 
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Raimundo Barreto

Dr. Raimundo César Barreto, Jr. is an associate professor of World Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary. He earned a PhD in Religion and Society from Princeton Theological Seminary and holds degrees from McAfee School of Theology/Mercer University and Seminário Teológico Batista do Norte do Brasil. He has taught at the Northeastern Baptist Seminary and at Faculdade Batista Brasileira in Brazil, and also served as Director of Freedom and Justice at the Baptist World Alliance (BWA). He remains involved in ecumenical and interfaith work, contributing in various capacities to the American Baptist Churches USA, the Baptist World Alliance, the National Council of Churches USA, and the World Council of Churches. Dr. Barreto is the general editor of the World Christianity and Public Religion book series (Fortress Press) and one of the conveners of the Princeton Theological Seminary's World Christianity Conference. He has co-edited five books and contributed dozens of peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. His monograph “Evangélicos e Pobreza no Brasil: Encontros e Respostas Éticas” (São Paulo: Editora Recriar/Editora Unida, 2019) will be published in English by Baylor University Press with the title “Protestantism and Poverty in Brazil: Face-to-Face Encounters and Ethical Responses” (Spring 2023). He is finalizing another monograph, “Base Ecumenism: A Latin American Decolonial Contribution to Ecumenical Praxis and Theology” (Fortress Press, Summer 2023). His impending work also includes the forthcoming book Christians in the City of São Paulo: The Shaping of World Christianity in a Brazilian Megacity (Bloomsbury Publishing Plc., 2024).

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João Chaves

Dr. João Chaves is Assistant Professor of Evangelism and Mission at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and Associate Director for Programming at the Hispanic Theological Initiative (HTI). He holds a PhD in Religion from Baylor University, and has presented and published his research broadly, both in English and in Portuguese. Dr. Chaves is the author of four books, including Migrational Religion: Context and Creativity in the Latinx Diaspora (Baylor University Press, 2021) and The Global Mission of the Jim Crow South: Southern Baptist Missions and the Shaping of Latin American Evangelicalism (Mercer University Press, 2022). His forthcoming book, co-written with Mikeal Parsons, is titled Remembering Antônia Teixeira: A Story if Missions, Violence, and Institutional Hypocrisy (Eerdmans, 2023). He has contributed to numerous book reviews, peer-reviewed articles, and chapters in larger works. His ongoing projects include editing “Christianity, Race, and Ethnicity: Latinx Critical Conversations on Identity Construction and Religious Participation” for Perspectives in Religious Studies (Winter 2022) and co-editing, with T. Laine Scales, the forthcoming book Baptists and the Kingdom of God (Baylor University Press, 2023). Dr. Chaves is also co-editor for the Perspectives on Baptist Identity book series, published by Mercer University Press, and works with the Editorial Board for the HTI Series on Religion and Theology En Conjunto, a book series published by Baylor University Press.

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Stephen DiTrolio Coakley

Stephen R. Di Trolio Coakley is a PhD student at Princeton Theological Seminary in the Department of History and Ecumenics (World Christianity and History of Religions). He worked and taught in Buenos Aires, Argentina before moving to Princeton, New Jersey. His research interests include Pentecostalism, Latin American history, political theology, and decolonial theory.

 
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