ABSTRACT
This chapter explores three aspects of the Brazilian religious scenario: first, the relationship between journalism, religion and authority; second, the impact of news coverage on religious dynamics and third, the ways that mediatization of religion has influenced negotiations of religious authority and power. Brazil, the largest country of South America, is characterized by a pronounced religious diversity, deepened by the increase of Evangelical religion in the past 40 years after three centuries of Catholic hegemony and the growth of religious minorities like Afro-Brazilian religions. In four sections, this text discusses the concepts of religion, journalism and authority, approached through the theoretical frame of mediatization of religion. Then follow two interconnected case studies. The first case study examines the news coverage of Evangelicals by the mainstream press in the 1990s, which instigated religious prejudice against Evangelicals. The second case study discusses the use of the press by Evangelical groups in the 2010s, during which their political engagement rose, fomenting intolerance against Afro-Brazilian religions and LGBTQ+ and feminist groups. Finally, the chapter discusses the challenges for scholars of religion, journalism and authority and asks how the Brazilian cases may help to reflect on the roles of the press and the scholarship of religion in a broader sense.
