New Books Network Laurie Denyer Willis, "Go with God: Political Exhaustion and Evangelical Possibility in Suburban Brazil" (U California Press, 2023)
From Pacification to Evangelicalism
- Laurie Denyer Willis went to study pacification in Rio but was redirected by locals to focus on evangelicalism.
- This shift revealed deeper state-community relationships shaped by violence and faith.
How Evangelicalism Rewires Political Hope in Suburban Brazil
Evangelical faith in Rio de Janeiro's suburban communities offers a transformative politics of salvation rather than the conventional politics of demands. Laurie Denyer Willis explains that for many, evangelicalism presents an intimate, embodied alternative to participation in traditional political movements, which are often seen as exhausting, violent, and ineffective.
This faith reaches into homes and relationships, promising personal healing and secure futures where state institutions are often experienced as neglectful or predatory. It provides resilience and community care amid chronic inequality and violence, redefining political acts as everyday religious practices involving prayer circles and healing ceremonies.
By focusing closely on these intimate religious experiences, the book highlights how evangelicalism changes people's relationship with the state and social possibility, reflecting political exhaustion with the left and the failures of conventional activism.
Politics of Salvation Concept
- Evangelicalism offers a politics of salvation, not just political demands, by providing intimate, hopeful futures.
- It replaces exhausting political activism with embodied spiritual acts that carry deep political meaning.
