Fichados, porém atuantes: religiosos protestantes e testemunhas de jeová vigiados pelo serviço nacional de informações (1970-1987)

Abstract

This study analyzes the political activities of Protestant clergy and Jehovah's Witnesses (JWs) during the Civil-Military Dictatorship and the authoritarian transition, based on reports produced by the National Information Service (SNI), which describe the alleged “subversive activities” of members of these congregations. In conjunction with this, the influences of these so-called “subversive” actions, carried out by members acting on their own initiative or when linked to movements declared to be in resistance to the Brazilian dictatorship, were examined. The political and social context in which Protestants and Jehovah's Witnesses were immersed and the political relations established during the repressive attacks, whose intention was to enforce the ideals and principles shaped by the National Security Ideology, were also observed. Based on the theoretical references that underpinned and sparked fruitful debates in this study, we highlight Foucault's idea of a “device of power” that entangled social relations, in addition to the pertinent understanding of the National Security Ideology, according to which it would lay the foundations for the execution of the modus operandi adopted by the military in power. The military in power believed that Protestants could support interventionist actions, creating an ambiguous relationship in which evangelicals were both allies and under surveillance. It is also worth noting the interest in conducting documentary research in conjunction with a historiographical review of the dictatorial experience in Brazil. In this sense, with regard to methodology, tools provided by Discourse Analysis (DA) were used in order to obtain a deeper understanding of the thematic study, comparing it with the sources. It is therefore considered that works of this nature constitute a relevant social contribution, as they point to the need to bring to light subaltern voices that are silenced in the archives of the dictatorship.