Abstract

BARRERA RIVERA, Dario Paulo  and  FAJARDO, Maxwell. Pentecostal pluralism on the outskirts of São Paulo. Study of the Perus neighborhood. Rev. colomb. soc. [online]. 2022, vol.45, n.1, pp.375-396.  Epub Dec 28, 2023. ISSN 0120-159X.  https://doi.org/10.15446/rcs.v45n1.90237.

The article aims to study the Pentecostal plurality existing in the urban periphery of the city of San Pablo. Studies on Pentecostalism in Latin America have generally emphasized its strong presence among the poorest population living in the peripheral regions of urban centers. At the same time, these studies have assumed that Pentecostalism is more homogeneous than diverse. This study aims to show the inverse hypothesis, that is, the diversity of Pentecostalism in the urban periphery. For this, the text initially analyzes the problematic relationship between the center and the periphery historically constructed in the large urban centers of Latin America, focusing in particular on the city of São Paulo. Urban centers were established throughout the 20th century following the diverse rhythms of industrialization. To explain the urban periphery of a city like São Paulo, one of the most industrialized in Latin America, we pay attention to the phenomenon of migration that results from industrial growth. Based on this analysis, we tried a definition of the concept of "periphery", supported by the rich literature on the urban periphery from the areas of urban sociology and urban anthropology. The data from an ethnographic investigation carried out in the Perus neighborhood, located in the northwestern region of São Paulo, are then analyzed. The ethnography was carried out in meticulous fieldwork that cataloged the totality of Pentecostal churches, their denomination, their dimensions, basic characteristics, and their location. Among the approximately 70,000 inhabitants of the neighborhood, 164 Pentecostal churches of 60 different denominations were found. Based on the cataloged data of these churches and their different distribution patterns in the neighborhood, it is discussed how Pentecostalism present in the periphery does not show a tendency towards uniformity, a common assumption of the studies that address the numbers of Pentecostal growth. in the last decades. On the contrary, it is found that the studied neighborhood is home to an important diversity of Pentecostal churches.

Keywords : Pentecostalism; Pentecostal plurality; Perus; São Paulo; urban periphery.

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