The pentecostal evangelical expansion:

what does the city of Quissamã/RJ teach us?

Abstract

In Brazil, shifts in religious confessionalities have been occurring, more precisely a transition from Catholicism to Evangelical Christianity. This study analyzed the territorial strategies employed by the Assemblies of God (ADs) to insert themselves and expand in the urban context of Quissamã/RJ. This small town constitutes a geographical situation that reveals the fabric of Evangelical expansion in some areas of the Deep Brazil, in which Evangelical churches become nodes in networks of sociability and urban economy, as well as providers of a system of social values. Methodologically, secondary IBGE data, bibliographical surveys, interviews with religious leaders and members, and fieldwork with photographic records of the churches were used. Results: 1. The expansion of the ADs involves strategically planned action in the selection of peripheral areas; 2. The churches constitute nodes of sociability by being central in festivities, gatherings, and cultural actions, even when these are linked to conversion; 3. They act significantly in the local economy through the income generated by pastors and members, even though this process cannot be quantitatively measured.