International Journal of Latin American Religions
May 19, 2017
B. Schmidt
26 citations
Although 64.6% of Brazilians identify as Roman Catholic in the national census, this self-identification does not reflect actual religious practice or belief. Many Brazilians who call themselves Christian also participate in diverse non-ordinary experiences—perceived as religious, spiritual, or extraordinary—drawn from various Brazilian traditions. This article reviews studies of such experiences in Brazil, arguing that they are essential for understanding the country's religious landscape beyond official census categories.
International Journal of Latin American Religions
December 1, 2022
Ismael Eduardo Apud Peláez, Victor E. C. Ortuño, Mari Rose Reimondo Silva et al.
6 citations
Tibetan Buddhists in Uruguay report lower future anxiety, activity, and aggression than both religious and non-religious comparison groups, and lower neuroticism than the religious group alone. The study compared 52 members of three Tibetan Buddhist groups with 52 religious and 52 non-religious individuals using personality and future-anxiety questionnaires. These differences may reflect personality traits of people drawn to Tibetan Buddhism or result from the tradition’s distinctive dimensions of believing, bonding, behaving, and belonging.
International Journal of Latin American Religions
June 9, 2023
Robson Savoldi, Antônio Roazzi, José Arturo Costa Escobar et al.
2 citations
Mysticism significantly enhances well-being, with 75% of participants in a study reporting improved life satisfaction after engaging in mystical experiences. In a sample of 500 individuals, psychometric assessments utilized structural equation modeling to confirm the construct validity of these experiences. The interplay between philosophy and social psychology revealed that psychedelics, particularly alkaloids, can facilitate profound insights into the self—bridging the id, ego, and super-ego. This highlights the potential of mystical experiences as therapeutic tools within developmental psychology and theology.
International Journal of Latin American Religions
December 1, 2022
Cecilia Guimarães Bastos
2 citations
The practices of yoga and meditation are examined through a group of Vedanta students and yoga practitioners, revealing that spirituality is not inherently individualistic. Contrary to studies that separate spirituality from religion, this work shows that practitioners often submit to religious dogmas and authorities such as the guru, tradition, and cosmic order. They adapt to these principles while appearing to transcend their individuality by becoming part of holistic traditions as both transmitters and receivers, expressing their most significant values and meanings. This challenges notions of autonomy and free choice.
International Journal of Latin American Religions
December 1, 2022
Maurício S. Neubern
2 citations
The experience of the Sacred in the life of Chico Xavier, a prominent 20th-century Brazilian Spiritist medium, is examined through semiotics and ethnopsychology. Spiritism shifted from its philosophical French origins to a religiously dominant form in Brazil. Two narratives about Xavier are analyzed: one concerning his spiritual mission, emphasizing discipline and asceticism; the other about conversion and healing, highlighting reflexivity, coherence between belief and conduct, and transformative processes. The Sacred in Xavier's context involves musement, a dialogical language, collective and communal diffusion, consensual criteria for legitimacy, and psychic power linked to love and the future.