Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: ELBSON ARAUJO DO CARMO

Uma banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : ELBSON ARAUJO DO CARMO
DATE: 13/10/2025
TIME: 18:00
LOCAL: SOL - - defesa hibrida - 30/09/2025
TITLE:

The digital divine: religions, cyber-religions and social media. The new mediators of the sacred and the networked experiences of the spirituality of the future.

KEY WORDS:

social media; religion; cyber-religion; religious autonomy; religious freedom; digital religiosity.

PAGES: 40
BIG AREA: Ciências Humanas
AREA: Sociologia
SUMMARY:

This doctoral thesis explores the influence of digital social networks on the development of a new model of religiosity in Brazil, focusing on the hypothesis that these platforms have fostered a more autonomous religious experience. They enable the formation of religious communities independent of physical temples, challenge religious orthodoxy, and disrupt traditional structures of authority and social control exercised by denominations and their clergy, therebyestablishing new regimes of truth. Given the central role that social networks have assumed in contemporary communication and social interaction in Brazil, this study aims to demonstrate how these technologies are also reshaping the traditional religious paradigm, influencing and transforming community bonds, religious practices, and the relationship between knowledge and power within the realm of faith. The research seeks to highlight that social networks have significantly expanded the autonomy of believers by providing access to a diverse array of religious content, increasing exposure to alternative forms of belief and religious experience, and facilitating spaces for open discussion that transcend the traditional control of clerical leadership. This, in turn, has generated new subjectivities. We argue that this phenomenon has led to the emergence of new devotional practices and entirely digital models of religion—cyber-religions—which are reconfiguring believers' perceptions of religious authority and its mediation of the sacred. These developments challenge the interpretive monopoly of the clergy while promoting greater individual autonomy in religious practice. At the same time, they pose challenges to community cohesion and institutional dogmatism. Furthermore, this thesis aims to contribute to the broader debate on religious transformations in Brazil by highlighting the sociological implications of new forms of technology-mediated social interaction.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Externo à Instituição - ANDRE RICARDO DE SOUZA - UFSCAR
Interno - 1642428 - FABRICIO MONTEIRO NEVES
Externo à Instituição - FLAVIO MUNHOZ SOFIATI - UFG
Interna - 3291596 - JACQUELINE MORAES TEIXEIRA
Presidente - 1354136 - PAULO GRACINO DE SOUZA JUNIOR