Catolicismo e política: o elemento religioso nas disputas eleitorais ponta-grossenses (1955-1963)

Abstract

The aim of this work is to discuss the presence of the religious element in the quest for political power in the city of Ponta Grossa in Paraná, based on the election campaigns of 1955, 1959 and 1963. Understanding politics and religion as professions of different natures, this dissertation found connections and mapped politicians linked to the city of Ponta Grossa who can be interpreted through the mutualist perspective between politics and (Catholic) religion, that is, through the intertwining of both in order to combat threats to the status quo. The beneficial relationship for both Catholicism and the politicians supported by this political-religious project revolved around situational conservatism, i.e. an ideology that reacted to anomalies that could jeopardize Catholic hegemony and the support of traditional political groups. Thus, candidates represented or identified as Jews, spiritists, communists or progressives were combated by the situational conservative stance in favor of maintaining the current order. Considering elections as events in which the interbreeding of religion and politics is accentuated, this work analyzed the election campaigns of specific politicians in the pages of the local newspapers Jornal da Manhã and Diário dos Campos, especially the columns created to cover the candidates' agendas and speeches during the election period. The year 1959, due to the lack of local sources, was studied using the newspapers hosted on Hemeroteca Digital. The epicenter of the analysis focused on the connections, discourses and approximations between the applications and the religious element, interpreted by the dissertation as a component of the structure. In this way, this writing understands the religious dimension as an instigating characteristic of society, because spirituality is in constant cultural, political and social tension.