Religião e assistência social nas periferias: a atuação das igrejas evangélicas no bairro Santa Luzia, em Juiz de Fora (MG)

Abstract

This undergraduate thesis analyzes the role of Pentecostal Evangelical churches in peripheral territories, with an emphasis on the relationship between their welfare practices and social assistance policy, taking the Santa Luzia neighborhood in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil, as a reference. The study starts from the significant growth of these institutions in Brazil and the expansion of their presence in areas marked by social inequalities, where they often assume roles that extend beyond the religious sphere, becoming support, welcoming, and mediation networks for social demands. The motivation for this research stems from the supervised internship experience in Social Work carried out at the Basic Health Unit in the Santa Luzia neighborhood, through which it was possible to observe the influence of Evangelical churches on users’ daily lives and their relationship with addressing the expressions of the social question. The study develops an analysis of the Marxist debate on religion, religious conservatism, the historical trajectory of Protestantism and Pentecostalism in Brazil, as well as the characteristics of the Pentecostal churches present in the territory under study. Based on this discussion, the research seeks to understand how the welfare practices developed by these institutions are articulated with social protection, highlighting both their role as support networks for the population and the tensions and contradictions that emerge from this relationship in light of the understanding of social assistance as a right. Thus, the study aims to contribute to the advancement of the debate on the intersections between religion, public policies, and Social Work, supporting reflections on the challenges faced by professional practice in the context of the growing presence of religious institutions in peripheral territories.