Term
| Candomblé (kahn-dohm-BLEH) |
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Definition
| Afro-Brazilian religion practiced by many people in Bahia, in northeastern Brazil. Modern Candomblé reflects the intermingling of African belief systems with Catholicism. |
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Term
| comunidades eclesiales de base (CEBs) |
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Definition
| base Christian communities; small base or grassroots groups of both Catholic and Protestant denominations that meet regularly to discuss the relevance of Scripture and church doctrine to their daily lives. Brazil has the largest number of CEBs in Latin America. |
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Term
| Conference of the Latin American Bishops |
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Definition
| organization of the Catholic bishops of Latin America. CELAM II, a meeting that took place in Medellín, Colombia, in 1968) was notable especially for the bishops' extensive critique of structural violence and repression of the poor. The bishops' advocacy of the need to eliminate socioeconomic inequalities and to accompany the poor in their struggle for liberation from exploitation became known as the "preferential option for the poor." |
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Term
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Definition
| literally, "believers"; Portuguese term for members of the many Pentecostal groups. |
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Term
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Definition
| literally, "guide"; term used by believers in Umbanda(see below) to describe the spirits who act through human mediums. |
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Definition
| Portuguese name for the goddess of the sea; African deity who has assumed a co-identity with the Catholic Virgin Mary. Iemanjá's feast day, December 31, is celebrated widely throughout Brazil with ritual processions and ceremonies along beaches. |
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Term
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Definition
| theology that equates the teachings of Christ with a call for liberation of the materially and spiritually poor. Gustavo Gutierrez, one of the earliest and most important liberation theologians, has argued since the 1960s that the Church has a responsibility to participate in class struggle, to take action against the various forms of oppression in society, and to work for greater socioeconomic justice. Some liberation theologians de-emphasize class struggle because of the conflict between their religious values and violence. |
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Term
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Definition
| African deities worshipped in the Brazilian religions of Umbanda (see below) and Candomblé |
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Term
| patronato real(pah-troh-NAH-toh rayALL) |
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Definition
| system of royal privileges in Catholic Church matters which emerged in the Iberian Peninsula prior to 1492 and was subsequently brought to the Americas. Under this system, the Spanish and Portuguese monarchs had certain rights in the areas of Church appointments, finances, and discipline in return for assuming some obligations for maintaining and spreading Catholicism. |
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Definition
| term applied to a number of Protestant sects that emphasize direct connection between the believers and the Holy Spirit; from Pentecost, the Christian festival celebrating Christ's gift of the Holy Spirit to his followers. Pentecostals believe that the Holy Spirit gives powers of prophecy, vision, and healing. Pentecostal churches have drawn increasing participation throughout the Americas. |
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| the Holy Book of the Mayan religion, written in the early sixteenth century, which emphasizes the connection between humans and the natural world. |
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Definition
| general term for religions that rely on a spiritual connection between believers and the deities or spirits; includes many non-Western religions of indigenous and African roots, such as Candomblé and Umbanda, as well as spiritist traditions of European origin. |
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Term
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Definition
| Brazilian religion with roots in European spiritism and African beliefs, adapted and modified by centuries of interaction with Catholic, indigenous, and other religious practices. Umbanda emphasizes the use of mediums who receive the spirits from the gods (orixás) and speak to the petitioner in answer to prayers and offerings. Among these spirits are Petros Velhos (the spirits of Africans enslaved in Brazil during colonial times) and Caboclos (the spirits of indigenous people from pre-Columbian times). |
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Term
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Definition
| Second Vatican Council; important worldwide meeting of Roman Catholic bishops called by Pope John XXIII in 1962. The Council, which met from 1962 to 1965, brought major changes to Catholic practices and emphasized Church support for peace, justice, and human rights in an effort to make the Church more relevant to the daily lives of its members. |
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