Religião, poder e legislação : a atuação da Frente Parlamentar Evangélica e a influência (neo)pentecostal no Congresso Nacional em 2023

Abstract

The Brazilian political landscape, historically marked by disputes between religious groups, was significantly transformed by the rise of Pentecostal and Neo-Pentecostal institutions throughout the 20th century. Within this context, the consolidation of the Evangelical Parliamentary Front (FPE) stands out, which, in 2023, comprised 216 elected federal deputies. This study aimed to investigate Bill Proposals (PLs) presented in 2023, by members of the FPE linked to Pentecostal and Neo-Pentecostal churches, focusing on those proposing restrictions on the rights of women and the LGBTQIA+ population, Aiming to analyze possible tensions between these propositions and the principle of the secular nature of the state in contemporary Brazilian politics. The research was based on the historical-dialectical materialist method, which enabled the apprehension of the historical, political, and ideological determinations that permeate the analyzed legislative activity. A mixed-methods (quantitative-qualitative) approach was adopted: the quantitative procedure allowed for the identification and delimitation of Bills related to reproductive rights, gender relations, and the rights of the LGBTQIA + population, while the qualitative analysis made it possible to examine the content and justifications of the proposals. The analysis of the legislative performance of these parliamentarians, during the first year of the current Lula government, identified indications of a moralizing political-religious project. . Although the religious bias was not always explicitly presented, the literature review and in-depth analysis of the proposals allowed for the identification of foundations anchored in Christian frameworks, revealing the influence of Christianity on the formulation of public policies that directly impact historically marginalized groups and strain the principle of state secularism.