‘Wij zijn geen folklore, wij zijn een religie!’

Priests of candomblé, an Afro-Brazilian spirit possession cult, increasingly demand recognition as a full-fledged religion to assert their voice in the public sphere of Salvador, Bahia, countering appropriation of their myths, symbols, and aesthetics by cultural entrepreneurs and tourists. While candomblé has been successful in these efforts, the demand comes at a price: 'religion' is a thoroughly Christian format, requiring all creeds that claim it to refashion themselves along that model.

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Abstract

‘An increasing number of priests from candomblé – an Afro-Brazilian spirit possession cult – publicly demand that their creed is recognized as a full-fledged ‘religion’. In this article I discuss how this demand is part of a larger political project whereby candomblé priests seek to assert their voice in the public sphere of Salvador, Bahia, thus to counter the all out appropriation of candomblé myths, symbols and aesthetics by cultural entrepreneurs, tourist organizations and other outsiders. While candomblé has proven quite successful in these attempts, I show that the demand to be recognized as a ‘religion’ comes at a price: far from being a neutral term, ‘religion’ is a thoroughly Christian format. All creeds that make a public claim to be a ‘religion’ thus require to refashion themselves along this Christian model.