Author: Andrew Dawson (University of Chester)

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ABSTRACT

Present in Brazil since 1972, the Gnostic Church of Brazil (Igreja Gnóstica do Brasil) is a neo-esoteric organization that combines traditional and late-modern characteristics. After situating the Gnostic Church of Brazil within Brazil’s contemporary neo-esoteric milieu, this article offers a brief description of the organization, its discourse, and its practice. The remainder of the article is given over to detailing and interpreting research data gathered via interview, questionnaire, and participant observation. Drawing on empirical research and theoretical reflection in light of contemporary academic treatments of religion in Brazil, this article examines a number of late-modern dynamics as they are refracted through a particular occupant of Brazil’s increasingly fluid religious field.