Religion and Brazilian Democracy

Amy Erica Smith

"On November 7, 2017, conservative opponents of "gender ideology" burned the American feminist theorist Judith Butler in effigy on the street in front of the art institute Sesc Pompeia in the city of Sao Paulo, while Butler herself was inside giving a lecture. As protesters hoisted a life-sized doll in a pink brassiere and witch's hat over their heads and lit it on fire, they chanted, "Burn the witch!" The protest apparently included both conservative Catholics and evangelicals. Though Catholic crucifixes were on prominent display during the protest, evangelical groups built much of the momentum behind the protests. In the days leading up to the talk, a Facebook group and website led by Assembly of God clergy from the city of Ilha Solteira (Sao Paulo state) drove traffic to an online petition that gathered 366,000 signatures opposing Butler's visit (J. Goncalves 2017). While the...