Emotions and religion across the Atlantic: senses and lusophone orixás

Afro-Brazilian religions have expanded into Portugal over the past 30 years, attracting Portuguese practitioners partly because these religions permit free emotional expression through possession and incorporation of entities, and because they proclaim openness to different races, sexual preferences, and other beliefs. However, initiation and ritual sequences are strongly hierarchical, with norms that must be obeyed to advance. Individuals manage these contradictory emotions to negotiate their identities both within and outside the religious group. The analysis connects emotional behavior, performance, and authenticity, drawing on case studies of Afro-Brazilian religions in Portugal and theoretical work on performativity and authenticity.

Study at a glance

Abstract

For the past 30 years, the Afro-Brazilian religions have crossed the Atlantic, reaching Portugal. One of the aspects that the Portuguese find most appealing is the possibility of expressing their emotions freely, either through possession and the incorporation of entities whose performances are directly connected with a sense of emotional freedom, or because these religions proclaim a clear openness and acceptance of different races, sexual preferences or even other religious beliefs. Nevertheless, the process of becoming initiated as well as the ritual sequences are both strongly hierarchical, obeying norms that should not be transgressed in order to advance in one’s religious career. Split between such contradictory emotions, individuals manage them as a means to negotiate their identities within the religious group and outside of it (Wulff 2007). I will expand on the issues of emotional behavior, performance, and authenticity, connecting them with the case-study of the expansion of the Afro-Brazilian religions in Portugal. In order to do this, the performative side (Beeman 2007; Schechner and Appel 1990) of these religions and the relationship between emotions and issues of authenticity – anchored on the seminal work compiled by Thomas Fillitz and Jamie Saris in the book Debating Authenticity (2013) – will be discussed.