The coloniality of Holy Spiriti in Brazilian Pentecostalism

The overlap of whiteness in its black religious communities

Abstract

This dossier aims to point out the coloniality of Holy Spirit, an integral person of the Divine Trinity, in current Brazilian Pentecostalism, in favor of whiteness in the sphere of power. The research points out that there is a process of invisibilization and erasure that does not allow the rise of black religious agents in Pentecostal communities, even though these religious communities are mostly formed by black people and located in the peripheries. The text seeks to reflect on the theme going through the roots of the foundation of Brazilian Pentecostalism and reaching the present day. We observe similarities with colonial Catholicism when the groups that hold power in Pentecostalism begin to use practices that privilege a white elite group. In this sense, we present broader aspects, addressing different points of view and possibilities to understand the different approaches to the coloniality of Holy Spirit in Brazilian Pentecostalism. Here, we work with the perspective of the Brazilian religious matrix absorbed by the Pentecostal movement and, furthermore, we work on aspects of the existing power frontiers between pastors from the peripheries against the superiority of pastors who are presidents of the Assemblies of God.