A legitimidade das comunidades terapêuticas católicas para dependência química no espaço público brasileiro: o caso da Fazenda Esperança

Abstract

The Therapeutic Communities (TC’s) are institutions with methodology based on community acquaintanceship and spiritual and professional activities. In Brazil, it was spread by Christian church, popularizing by the offering of chemical psychoactive substances dependency treatment. The controversies around the TC’s enhance after it is incorporation into the Health Care Network, in 2010. This Federal Government resolution was critical object done by drug’s experts, who question the secularity and effectiveness of these institutions. It is going to be around the legitimacy or not, of religious presence as social and public policy implementer, the subject of this thesis. The collected data in bibliography and documentary research were supplemented by a brief ethnography of Fazenda da Esperança. In the analysis, were used as theoretical reference the papers of Goffman (1992), of Turner (1994; 2005) and Csordas (1997;2002). The research will be presented on three chapters: the first chapter historically set up the relation between Roman Catholic Church and social assistance, regarding the positioning catholic on drugs. The second chapter descant over the role that TC’s hold inside the public assistance network to psychoactive substances dependent. The third chapter will introduce the Fazenda da Esperança, bringing the methodological aspects to the development of the objectives of this research. On the conclusion, it is going to be presented perspectives concerning the Roman Catholic Church influence on drug’s public policy and how the institution think itself inside the society.