The charismatic gymnasium
Subtitle: breath, media, and religious revivalism in contemporary Brazil
By: Maria José de Abreu
Contributors: Duke University Press; Duke University Press
Publisher: Duke University Press
Published: 2021
Place of publication: Durham
Language: eng
Number of pages: 233
ISBN-13: 9781478009719; 9781478011347; 9781478010296; 9781478090458
Subjects: Anthropology of religion; Leadership; Catholic Church; Religion and politics; Christianity
Description: "Tessellating the political economy of mass media with ancient conceptions of the gymnasium, The Charismatic Gymnasium traces the shift by the Catholic Church toward orthodox Greek repertoires in order to advance the concept of pneumatic liberalism to think Brazil's contemporary moment. In line with the recent interest in concepts like "life-force" or "vital substance" in Euro-American intellectual discourse, the book documents the central role of pneuma (the Greek term for air, breath, spirit) in a vast respiratory religious program that in Brazil goes under the popular name of "the aerobics of Jesus." Applying the uses of the Greek gymnasium in Christianity, this book explores the creation of aerobic exercises designed to make spiritually fit Catholic devotees in urban São Paulo." "--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: The Media Acts of the Apostles; title: Confession, Technically Speaking; title: Outstanding Elasticity; title: The Aerobics of Jesus; title: Operation Theotókos; title: Ghost Chair; title: Theology on the Run; title: Slanted Operations