On the border between culture and religion. Public policies for Afro-Brazilian religions in Brazil

Abstract

This paper aims to discuss some of the recent questions concerning the promotion of public policies for Afro-Brazilian religions. To access to these policies, these groups have organized over the last few decades in the form of civil society associations and their leaders have attended many ministerial board meetings and committees. Because of this engagement, Afro-Brazilian religions were classified as "traditional terreiro peoples" and more recently received the label of "traditional peoples and communities of African origin." The paper analyses the various arguments underpinning the discursive construction of Afro-Brazilian religions as representatives of a black cultural heritage in Brazil.