Submitted by Cássia Santos (cassia.bcufg@gmail.com) on 2015-02-05T13:47:08Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Artur Felicio Costa - 2014.pdf: 3144016 bytes, checksum: 9a2149dc6cd354eca6afa97110410c2f (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2015-02-05T14:07:18Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Artur Felicio Costa - 2014.pdf: 3144016 bytes, checksum: 9a2149dc6cd354eca6afa97110410c2f (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-02-05T14:07:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Artur Felicio Costa - 2014.pdf: 3144016 bytes, checksum: 9a2149dc6cd354eca6afa97110410c2f (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-06-13 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This dissertation adresses the encounter between the melodramatic imagination and the imaginative structure that derives form the Bible as a way to operationalize, aesthetically, the representation of the espiritism at the movies Nosso Lar e Chico Xavier – o filme. The tangent of these matrices, so to speak, left visible the extent to which religion informs the very language of films. Therefore, dialogical and hypertextual bridges were created. This dialogue, beyond its endogenous and structural nature, were also estabilished with the historical, social and cultural context of spiritism in Brasil and in its originating reminiscences in the nineteenth century. Thus, from the concept of “moral occult”, we testify the operation of melodrama as a catalyzer of an evaluative universe translated from the influence of the “Greate Code”, in other words, the influence of the Bible with its images and narrative structures. / A presente dissertação aborda o encontro entre a imaginação melodramática e a estrutura imaginativa que deriva da Bíblia como uma forma de se operacionalizar, esteticamente, a representação da doutrina espírita nas obras Nosso Lar e Chico Xavier – o filme. O encontro dessas referências, por assim dizer, deixaram evidentes até que ponto a religião informa a própria linguagem dos filmes. Criaram-se, portanto, pontes hipertextuais e dialógicas. Esse diálogo, além do seu caráter endógeno e estrutural, também se estabeleceu com o contexto histórico, social e cultural do espiritismo no Brasil e em suas reminiscências originárias do século XIX. Verificou-se, assim, a partir do conceito de “oculto moral”, a operação do melodrama como o catalizador de um universo valorativo traduzido a partir da influência do “código dos códigos”, ou seja, da Bíblia como uma influência imaginativa com suas imagens e estruturas narrativas.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e TecnolÃgico / CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / A presente dissertaÃÃo, intitulada Os educadores-palhaÃos do grupo fantasia: o que aprendem e o que nos ensinam sobre educaÃÃo moral, teve como objetivo geral compreender a visÃo dos integrantes do Grupo Fantasia sobre a educaÃÃo moral desenvolvida nas atividades voluntÃrias realizadas em um dos abrigos visitados por eles - o Abrigo Casa-FamÃlia de MaracanaÃ. Os sujeitos da pesquisa sÃo denominados de educadores-palhaÃos pela dimensÃo educacional e social do trabalho desempenhado e por expressarem-se atravÃs da figura singular, divertida e libertadora do palhaÃo. SÃo jovens pertencentes à Mocidade EspÃrita Nova GeraÃÃo da Sociedade EspÃrita de Maracanaà (SOESMA). Com atividades lÃdicas e artÃsticas, o grupo desenvolve uma proposta de educaÃÃo moral inspirada na Doutrina EspÃrita, codificada por Allan Kardec, no final do sÃculo XIX. NÃo hà intenÃÃo de fazer adeptos para esta doutrina, mas colaborar na formaÃÃo de pessoas de bem, de acordo com a moral do Cristo. As perguntas orientadoras da investigaÃÃo foram: quem sÃo os jovens pertencentes ao grupo? Como atuam? O que o grupo nos ensina e o que aprendem sobre educaÃÃo moral nas variadas atividades pedagÃgicas e sociais desenvolvidas por eles? O referencial teÃrico acerca do desenvolvimento moral, emergiu das perspectivas de Jean Piaget e Lawrence Kholberg; bem como dos princÃpios morais de Rousseau e de Pestalozzi, alÃm da moral espÃrita com base em Allan Kardec. A compreensÃo do Grupo Fantasia acerca da educaÃÃo moral foi investigada combinando duas metodologias qualitativas de pesquisa: a pesquisa-aÃÃo proposta por Renà Barbier e Michel Thiollent e a pesquisa (auto)biogrÃfica desenvolvida a quase trÃs dÃcadas por investigadores que utilizam as histÃrias de vida em formaÃÃo. Os procedimentos utilizados foram: o CÃrculo Reflexivo BiogrÃfico (CRB); criado em pesquisa anteriormente desenvolvida pela professora ErcÃlia Braga com o Grupo Fantasia; a observaÃÃo participante acompanhada do diÃrio de intinerÃncia, de registros fotogrÃficos e de filmagens. O trabalho realizado permitiu uma ampla reflexÃo sobre a prÃtica efetivamente realizada, levando o grupo a reelaborar seu projeto pedagÃgico. A experiÃncia desenvolvida pelos educadores-palhaÃos pode contribuir para o campo da educaÃÃo popular, sobretudo no trabalho desenvolvido com crianÃas e adolescentes, mais profundamente no desenvolvimento de valores e atitudes que apontam para uma sociedade mais fraterna e justa. / This dissertation entitled Educators clown of Grupo Fantasia: what we learn and teach about moral education, aimed to understand the overall vision of the members of Grupo Fantasia on moral education developed in voluntary activities carried out in one of the shelters visited for them - the Family Shelter House, Marazion. The subjects are called clowns by educators and educational dimension of social work carried out and express themselves through the singular figure of the clown fun and liberating. They are young people belonging to the New Generation Youth Spiritist Society of Spiritist Maracanaà (SOESMA). With recreational and artistic activities, the group develops a proposal for a moral education inspired by the Spiritist Doctrine, codified by Allan Kardec in the late nineteenth century. There is no intention to do adherents to this doctrine, but to collaborate in the formation of good people, according to the morality of Christ. The guiding research questions were: Who are the young people belonging to the group? How do they work? What it teaches us and learning about moral education in various educational and social activities undertaken by them? The theoretical about moral development, emerged from the perspectives of Jean Piaget and Lawrence Kholberg; and moral principles of Rousseau and Pestalozzi, and morality based on spiritualist Allan Kardec. Understanding Group Fantasy about moral education has been investigated by combining two methods of qualitative research: action research proposed by Rene Barbier and Michel Thiollent and Research (auto) biographical developed almost three decades by researchers who use the stories of life in training . The procedures used were: Biographical Reflective Circle (CRB), established in earlier research developed by Professor Braga Ercilia with Grupo Fantasia; participant observation accompanied by the daily intinerÃncia of filming and photographic records. The work has enabled a broad reflection on the practice carried out effectively, leading the group to redesign their pedagogical project. The experience developed by educators clowns can contribute to the field of popular education, particularly in work with children and adolescents, more deeply in the development of values and attitudes that point to a more fraternal and just society.

Objetivos: Descrever o perfil do tratamento complementar religioso realizado nos centros espíritas da cidade de São Paulo, compreender a abordagem terapêutica dos problemas de saúde mental e como é realizada a diferenciação entre pessoas apresentando experiências espirituais e aqueles com transtornos mentais nesses centros. Métodos: No estudo I, foram selecionados centros espíritas pertencentes à cidade de São Paulo que possuíam registro na internet. Foram encaminhadas cartas registradas contendo o termo de consentimento e um questionário padrão envolvendo dados relacionados à identificação e ao funcionamento do centro espírita, pessoas atendidas em média, tratamentos recomendados, de que forma acontece à terapêutica, principais doenças atendidas, quais tratamentos são dados para cada tipo de transtorno psiquiátrico e como é feita a diferenciação entre experiências espirituais e transtornos mentais. No estudo II foram descritas as características do tratamento complementar espiritual realizado para depressão em um grande centro espírita da cidade de São Paulo. Resultados: Dos 365 centros que receberam a carta, 55 (15,1%) foram incluídos na análise final, tendo média de 41,1 anos (DP:20,7) de existência. A média relatada de atendimentos por semana em cada instituição é de 261 pessoas (totalizando cerca de 15.000 atendimentos/semana nos 55 centros). A prática terapêutica mais presente entre os centros é a desobsessão (92,7%), porém a intervenção menos frequente é a cirurgia espiritual, presente em apenas 5,5% dos centros, sendo nenhuma com cortes. Quando questionados se todo transtorno psiquiátrico é mediunidade desequilibrada ou obsessão, 58,2% responderam que sim. Os problemas de saúde mais citados para a procura desses centros foram: depressão (45,1%), câncer (43,1%) e doenças em geral (33,3%). Quanto à diferenciação entre experiência espiritual e doença mental, critério proposto por Menezes & Moreira-Almeida, a média de acertos foi de 12,4 (DP:3,4) entre 18 acertos possíveis. Entre os responsáveis pelos centros, 4 (8,3%) acertaram todos os critérios. Conclusão: Os centros espíritas investigados realizam um expressivo número de atendimentos por semana e os problemas mais comuns atendidos estão relacionados às esferas da saúde e do relacionamento pessoal e social. Entre os problemas de saúde mais comumente relatados está a depressão e o câncer. Na avaliação sobre a diferenciação entre experiências espirituais e transtornos mentais, uma minoria dos dirigentes desses centros espíritas conseguiu realizar uma diferenciação completa entre esses dois tipos de comportamento / Objectives: To describe the characteristics of the complementary religious treatment conducted by Spiritist centers in the city of São Paulo, to understand how mental health problems are addressed and how they differentiate persons with spiritual experiences from those with mental health diseases. Methods: In the first study, all Spiritist centers from the city of São Paulo which have their address available through internet were selected. Registered letters were sent containing a consent term and a standard questionnaire. The questionnaire included socio-demographic data, Spirit center structure, number of patients, recommended treatments, how the treatment is carried out, most common diseases, types of treatments provided by psychiatric disorders and how to differentiate spiritual experiences and mental health diseases. In the second study, the characteristics of the complementary spiritual treatment for depression conducted by one important Spiritist center in São Paulo, Brazil was described. Results: From 365 Spiritist centers which received the registered letter, 55 (15.1%) were included in the final analysis. They have a mean age of 41.1 years (SD: 20.7). There were in average 261 persons/week attending to spiritual sessions in each center, totalizing approximately 15000 attendees per week in all 55 centers. The most common treatment performed in these centers was disobsession (Spirit release therapy) (92.7%); however the less common was the \'spiritual surgery\' , present in only 5.5% and none with cuts. When questioned if every psychiatric disorder is impaired mediumship or obsession, 58.2% said \"yes\". The most cited health problems reported were depression (45.1%), cancer (43.1%) and diseases in general (33.3%). Concerning the differentiation between spiritual experiences and mental health disorders, there was a mean of 12.4 (SD: 3.4) of 18 correct answers. From all centers, 4 (8.3%) answered correct all questions. Conclusion: The Spiritist centers are responsible for treating a great number of persons a week and the most common problems addressed in these centers were related to health, relationship and social problems. Among mental health problems, the most common conditions were depression and cancer. While evaluating the differences between spiritual experiences and mental health problems, the minority of Spiritist centers\' responsible could make a complete differentiation between both aspects

Pretendeu-se analisar o processo de formação da heterogeneidade formal do campo religioso brasileiro tomando por objeto empírico o desenvolvimento de parte da produção intelectual religiosa durante as últimas décadas do século XIX. Examinando sociologicamente a emergência do espiritismo religioso, almejou-se entender e explicitar em sua lógica própria o processo de constituição de um mercado competitivo de bens de salvação caracterizado pela perda do monopólio religioso da igreja católica e pela ascensão da legitimidade institucional das outras religiões. Relacionando a idéia weberiana de racionalização das esferas de valor no caso a religiosa e as noções de trabalho e de divisão do trabalho religioso de Pierre Bourdieu, propôs-se uma análise das lutas dos grupos de agentes cujos interesses materiais e simbólicos tornam o campo religioso um terreno de operação para as lutas entre diferentes empresas de salvação. / This work aims to analyze the formation of the pluralism in Brazilian religious field. Its empirical object is the development process of part of the intellectual production on Religion during the last decades of the 19th century. A sociological examination of the emergency of the religious Spiritism was made in order to explain, through its own logic, the constitution process of a competitive goods salvation market. This research shows that this market is characterized by the loss of the religious monopoly from the Catholic Church and by the rising of the institutional legitimacy from other religions. By relating the Weberian idea of rationalization of the value spheres in this case, the religious one to the concepts of religious work and division of the religious work from Pierre Bourdieu, this research proposes an analysis of the struggles among the groups of agents whose material and symbolic interests have made the religious field become a field of operation for the struggles between different salvation companies

Dentro do movimento de pluralização confessional ensejado pela secularização (característica da modernidade religiosa brasileira), recorto para fins de estudo um processo mais específico, a saber: o de adensamento institucional do espiritismo kardecista entre as décadas de 1920 e 1960. Por meio do exame de trajetórias de agentes de relevância desse segmento e de sua produção intelectual religiosa, a análise que se pretendeu realizar levou em consideração as disputas materiais e simbólicas entre formas distintas de visões espíritas de mundo. Sob esse enquadramento, o objetivo foi o de compreender e explicar como são articulados os sistemas de crenças espíritas e quais são as fontes de autoridade em jogo. Foram abertas duas frentes de trabalho. A primeira delas consistiu basicamente na reconstituição histórica de algumas coordenadas importantes para a compreensão tanto do cenário quanto do elenco espíritas. Na segunda, foi levado a cabo um trabalho de definição sociológica do que poderia vir a ser um clero espírita, e mais particularmente, quais os contornos que caracterizam os diferentes papéis desempenhados pelos vários atores em cena / Within the movement of confessional pluralization led by secularization (a characteristic of Brazilian religious modernity), I circumscribe, for the purpose of this study, a more specific process, namely, the institutional densification of Kardecist Spiritism between the decades of 1920 and 1960. Through the examination of trajectories of relevant agents in this segment and their religious intellectual production, the analysis took into account the material and symbolic disputes between distinct forms of spiritist worldviews. Through this prism, the objective was to understand and explain how spiritist belief systems are articulated and what are the actual sources of authority. There are two work fronts. The first one basically consists in a historical reconstitution of some important coordinates for the understanding of both the scenery and the spiritist cast. On the second work front, the purpose was to build a sociological definition of what could be a spiritist clergy, and, more particularly, what outlines characterize the different roles played by the various actors on the scene

Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-27T13:54:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 CELMA LAURINDA FREITAS COSTA.pdf: 925374 bytes, checksum: 45bc7e000ea31c1b4fe6d84b6bf5db27 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-08-28 / This paper, Science and Education notions in Spiritism, studies spiritism, a doctrine with scientific, philosophical and religious content expounded by Allan Kardec in the 19th century. (Allan Kardec was the nom de plume of Hypollite León-Denizard Rivail, a Catholic French scientist, thinker and educator who followed the Pestalozzi theory.). This paper presents his doctrine and also analyses its viability as a didactic-pedagogical program. It s a theoreticalbibliographical research mainly based on Kardec`s works. Spiritism presents information about man, nature, the origin and the destiny of the worlds, the material and spiritual spheres, God and Christian religious principles based on trance communications received by ``mediums``. It emphasizes moral education and it focuses on persons as immortal spirits in constant evolution through consecutive lives (reincarnation). Spiritism appeared as part of a large surge of Spiritualism which also included experiences in magnetism and hypnotism. Kardec states that he did his research according to the predominant positivist model, which implies in experimental and empirical observation within an inductive-deductive thought process, so within the third state of knowledge proposed by Comte (three-state theory ). As all the spiritism content was dictated by spirits it is said that this is not Kardec s doctrine but the spirits`. Brazil, the largest spiritistic country in the world, received spiritism mainly as a religion but during the 19th and 20th centuries isolated educational experiences occurred. These experiences failed due to the lack of financial and human resources. Nowadays some Brazilian spiritistic thinkers try to elaborate an educational spiritistic proposal related to a spiritistic pedagogy. However, these theories, as presented, seem to be impractical considering that they propose a religious humanist public education to Brazil which has a public educational system directed by the Ministry of Education. Besides, spiritism is about the education of the spirit, of the individual man, the immortal being whose goal is, after consecutive lives, to became moral and achieve perfection meeting God. So, a project of spiritistic Pedagogy for the Brazilian public education system needs more research, financial resources, and, above all, concrete and practical experiences that can show spiritism as a viable praxis for the educational system. / O trabalho A noção de ciência e educação no Espiritismo estuda o Espiritismo, doutrina de teor científico, filosófico e religioso codificada por Allan Kardec no século XIX (Allan Kardec é pseudônimo de Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail, cientista, pensador e educador francês da linha pestalozziana e seguidor do Catolicismo), apresentando os princípios da doutrina e também analisando a sua viabilidade como programa didático-pedagógico. Trata-se de uma pesquisa teórico-bibliográfica com foco principal nas obras de Kardec. O Espiritismo traz ensinamentos sobre o homem, a natureza, a origem e o destino do mundo, as esferas material e espiritual, Deus e princípios religiosos cristãos, ditados pelos Espíritos por meio dos médiuns. Com ênfase no aspecto da educação moral, enfoca as pessoas como Espíritos imortais em constante evolução através das vidas sucessivas (reencarnações). O Espiritismo surgiu dentro de um amplo movimento espiritualista da época, que abrangia experiências em magnetismo e hipnotismo. Kardec declara ter realizado suas pesquisas pelos moldes da ciência positivista então predominante, com observações empíricas e experimentais, dentro do raciocínio indutivo-dedutivo, portanto, sob o terceiro estado do conhecimento proposto por Comte (teoria dos três estados). Como todo o conteúdo do Espiritismo foi ditado pelos Espíritos manifestantes, diz-se que é uma doutrina dos Espíritos e não de Allan Kardec. O Brasil, o maior país espírita do mundo, recepcionou o Espiritismo principalmente como religião, realizando ainda, de modo isolado, nos séculos XIX e XX, algumas experiências na área da educação escolar. Estas, produzidas por alguns espíritas mais dedicados, não lograram o efeito duradouro pretendido, tendo sido frustradas também pela falta de recursos financeiros e humanos. Hoje, alguns pensadores espíritas brasileiros tentam elaborar uma proposta educativa espírita, falando em Pedagogia Espírita. No entanto esses pensamentos, como estão expostos, parecem inviáveis, mormente em razão de proporem uma educação escolar humanista religiosa para o ensino público brasileiro, que é laico e passa por todo tipo de dificuldades, principalmente financeiras, tendo sua própria política direcionada pelo Ministério da Educação e Cultura. Além disso, o Espiritismo, em si, não aborda a educação escolar, mas sim a educação do Espírito, do homem individual, do ser imortal, cuja meta é, em vidas sucessivas, formar-se moralmente e atingir a perfeição, indo ao encontro de Deus. Portanto um projeto de Pedagogia Espírita para a rede escolar pública brasileira carece de estudos, análise, financiamento e principalmente de experiências práticas e concretas que venham a configurar o Espiritismo como uma práxis efetiva viável no âmbito didáticoescolar.

In diesem Buch geht es um ein Phänomen, das als konstantes Element in der Geschichte des Christentums bezeichnet werden kann: Neuoffenbarungen. Denn der Kanonisierung der Bibel und dem kritischen Blick der kirchlichen Orthodoxie zum Trotz gab und gibt es immer wieder Menschen, die behaupten, dass sich ihnen Gottvater, Christus, der Heilige Geist oder andere Wesenheiten (Maria, Engel, Verstorbene) offenbart haben. Religionswissenschaftler haben das Thema bislang weitgehend ignoriert. Sie haben den Bereich des Christentums den Theologen überlassen und sich allenfalls mit frei flottierender Esoterik befasst. Theologen neigen ihrerseits dazu, Neuoffenbarungen apologetisch zu bekämpfen. Die vorliegende Untersuchung leistet daher einen wichtigen Beitrag zur religionswissenschaftlichen Erforschung des Themas. Im ersten Teil des Buches wird der Begriff „Neuoffenbarung“ aus verschiedenen religionswissenschaftlichen Perspektiven betrachtet. Zunächst wird untersucht, was die christliche Theologie unter „Offenbarung“ versteht. Danach werden die verschiedenen Termini analysiert, die für das Feld der außer- und nachbiblischen Offenbarungen kursieren (Neuoffenbarung, Privatoffenbarung, Channeling, Spiritismus, Prophetie u. v. m.). Anschließend werden jene Argumente referiert, die von Neuoffenbarungsanhängern bzw. kirchlichen Apologeten ins Feld geführt werden, um die Legitimität von Neuoffenbarungen zu behaupten bzw. zu bestreiten. Dass Neuoffenbarungen gar nicht so neu sind, zeigt ein religionshistorischer Überblick. Denn der Anspruch, besondere Offenbarungen empfangen zu haben, lässt sich in jeder Epoche des Christentums nachweisen. Nachdem einige Exponenten des prophetischen Charismas als ideengeschichtliche Vorläufer und Geistesverwandte der modernen Neuoffenbarungen vorgestellt wurden, werden diese schließlich selbst in den Fokus genommen. Das disparate Feld der Neuoffenbarungsträger des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts wird anhand exemplarischer Gestalten in einer Typologie geordnet dargestellt. Um den Zitationszirkel zu durchbrechen, der sich offensichtlich im Diskurs etabliert hat, werden darin auch bislang weniger bekannte Neuoffenbarer vorgestellt. In einer Art Tiefenbohrung werden diese religionsphilosophischen, semantischen, historischen und systematischen Zugänge im zweiten Teil an der mexikanischen Neuoffenbarung „Das Buch des Wahren Lebens“ exemplifiziert. Die analysierende Darstellung beschränkt sich jedoch nicht auf ein isoliertes Objekt, sondern dies wird in einen komparatistischen Kontext gestellt: Zentrale Topoi des „Buches des Wahren Lebens“ (Christologie, Reinkarnationslehre, Kirchenkritik u. v. m.) werden zum einen in einer Synopse mit anderen Neuoffenbarungen dargestellt und zum anderen an der orthodoxen Theologie gespiegelt. Damit wird eine doppelte Differenz gezeigt: die Nähe/Ferne zu ähnlichen Phänomenen und die Nähe/Ferne zum kirchlichen Christentum. / This book deals with a phenonmen that counts as a constant feature in the history of Christianity: New Revelations. Despite the canonization of the Bible and despite the critical look of the Church, there are and always have been people who claim that they have received a revelation by God, Christ, the Holy Spirit or other beings (such as Mary, angels or spirits). Scientists of religion have largely ignored this topic up to now. They have relinquished Christianity to theologians and have at best dealed with free-floating esotericism, while theologians on their part tend to fight New Revelations apologetically. The present study, however, sets out to investigate New Revelations from a Religious Studies perspective and will therefore address this neglect. In the first part of the book, different perspectives common in Religious Studies are applied to the investigation of the notion “revelation“. After first having outlined Christian theology’s understanding of revelation, different terms are being analysed, which are in use for post-Biblical revelations (such as New Revelation, Private Revelation, Channeling, Spiritism, Prophecy and more). This is followed by the presentation of arguments against and in favour of the legitimacy of New Revelations as they are being urged by adherents of New Revelations on the one hand and Clerical apologetics on the other hand. A historical survey then demonstrates that New Revelations are in fact not new at all. The claim of people, who are supposed to have received a special revelation, can be found at all times in Christian history. After having presented some exponents of the prophetic charisma as spiritual soulmates and precedesors of the modern New Revelations, those texts themselves become the focus of attention. With the help of a typology, the disparate array of recipients of revelation in the 19th and 20th century is being outlined based on several exemplary figures. To break through a circle of quotation, which has apparently established in the discourse, the typology also contains some New Revelationists who are yet relatively unknown. Based on the Mexican New Revelation “The Book of the True Life“, the second part of the book exemplifies these religio-philosophical, semantic, historical and systematical approaches. This analysis, however, is not limited to an isolated object but it is put into a comparative context: central topics of “The Book of the True Life“ (Christology, Doctrine of Reincarnation, Church criticism and many more) are presented in a synopsis with other New Revelations, as well as mirrored at orthodox theology. With this, a twofold difference is being demonstrated: the closeness/distance to similar phenomena and the closeness/distance to clerical Christianity.

For eighty-six-year-old Tampa, Florida, native Dolores Lolita Rodriguez, yard decorating was more than just decoration; it was a form of therapy. Her yard was a massive assemblage of found objects arranged into a personalized visual vocabulary that involved honoring the deceased, her Spanish identity, and local spiritual practices. The yard also upheld a unique conception of beauty. Her creations were an articulation of, and remedy for, a life of tremendous loss. They were also the cause of her stroke and confinement to rehabilitation in November 2002. Dolores property was visually cognate with a mode of yard decoration, called the African-American yard show, which defends the home from evil spirits and honors the deceased. Although Dolores was not African-American, but of Spanish-American descent, it was important to explore possible influences from the local African-American community. It also became necessary to interact with Caribbean religious practices present in her west Tampa neighborhood in order to understand her coded yard. After a year and a half of meetings with Dolores in her rehabilitation center room, it was determined that no academic paradigm or any one religious practice could be used to explain her world. Dolores did not abide by any specific set of rules other than her own. Her daily act of decoration was a make-do phenomenon. She improvised with found objects and elements of local spiritual practices creating a bricolage of meaning. She surrounded herself with an autobiographical sketch of her past, something she found to be beautiful. Her twenty-five years of hard work were completely destroyed in May 2004, by her long-lost grandson. The property was erased of everything Dolores en put up for sale. Dolores Lolita Rodriguez died of a heart attack in her rehabilitation center bed in November 2005. All that remains are her words and the photographs of her work as they have been presented in this project. I do hope that my research serves her legacy well.

This study argues that Francisco I. Madero, a Spiritist and the thirty-third President of Mexico, understood his political action as the earthly component of spiritual struggle. In Madero's correspondence, "spirit writings," and pseudonymous Spiritist publications, we find a prescriptive Spiritist vision, in which democracy represents a triumph of human's "higher nature" over the "base, selfish passions" of Porfirio Díaz and his regime. This prescriptive vision is both characteristic of Kardecist Spiritism, the transnational metaphysical movement influential in the Americas since the mid-nineteenth century, and the outward expression of an inner struggle, in which self-discipline, charity, and hard work are thought to calm one's "animal passions," and in so doing attract "higher spirits" that aid in spiritual development. While reserved in the public presentation of his religiosity, the documentary evidence suggests that for Madero, the democratic struggle had "transcendental" significance. Analyzing his published work alongside his personal and political biography in the period between 1900-1911, this study briefly considers this prescriptive Spiritist vision and the ways it inflected Madero's political action and accommodated changing political circumstance. / text

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-17T15:01:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1070481 bytes, checksum: f43bd7634058817fe0add2fc85627a02 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-06-17 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Throughout history the analysis about the Nature of Being has been conducted between the soul (or spirit), to be immaterial, and the resulting awareness of the matter. Greeks in antiquity to modern times the debate has been made between philosophical idealism and philosophical materialism. From the nineteenth century is to have a contribution to the study of Spiritism. The purpose of this research was to examine the nature of being from the perspective of philosophers supporters of philosophical idealism, philosophical materialism and Spiritism. The methodological procedures adopted in the research, considering it is qualitative, exploratory and bibliographic aimed at identifying the relationship between spirit and matter, while the nature of being, in view of Spiritism. According to Spiritism the universe has an intelligent planning, where all resources are worked in co-creation of tiny beings, early in its evolution, to the angelic potencies to the Supreme Lord. The Spirit is the holder of intelligence, matter is only an instrument. / Ao longo da história da humanidade a análise acerca da Natureza do Ser tem sido conduzida entre alma (ou espírito), ser imaterial, e consciência resultante da matéria. Dos Gregos, na antiguidade, aos tempos atuais o debate tem sido efetuado entre o Idealismo Filosófico e o Materialismo Filosófico. A partir do século XIX passa-se a ter a contribuição do Espiritismo ao estudo. O objetivo da pesquisa foi examinar a natureza do ser sob a ótica dos filósofos adeptos do idealismo filosófico, materialismo filosófico e do Espiritismo. Os procedimentos metodológicos adotados na pesquisa, considerando que é qualitativa, exploratória e bibliográfica visaram identificar a relação entre espírito e matéria, enquanto natureza do ser, na visão do Espiritismo. Segundo o Espiritismo o Universo tem uma planificação inteligente, em que todos os recursos são trabalhados em regime de co-criação, dos ínfimos seres, no início de sua evolução, até as potências Angélicas com o Senhor Supremo. O Espírito é o detentor da inteligência, a matéria é apenas instrumento.