Brazilian CultureThrough Music

Miami University

The Effect of Catholicism on Violence

Against Women in Brazil

And Other Contributions

Tessa Kennedy, Alec Weintraub, Phil Krayterman, Brynn Hatton

WGS/POR/ENG/FST/BWS 383

Paula Gandara

December 1, 2019

INTRODUCTION

The deeply rooted traditionalist ideologies of Catholicism traverse a wide variety of extremist views, one of those being the role of women in society. It is possible that the misogynistic overtones we see in Catholicism may have contributed to the development of the patriarchal society that has developed in Brazil and remains prevalent today. One of the most startling trends we see in Brazil is violence towards women, especially rape.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ISSUE

Throughout history, the Catholic church has been monopolized by men in power, from priests and bishops to the Pope. There are very few opportunities for women to hold any roles of major significance in the catholic church, and for a society like Brazil that is so reliant on religion, this begins to pose an issue. By putting a specific group of people in power, that group will begin to assimilate themselves as chieftains by human nature, and it can be very difficult to restrain this superiority complex. This is one of the reasons Catholicism may have an impact on the sustenance of a male-centric Brazilian society.

FORGIVENESS

Another emphasis within Catholicism is the concept of forgiveness. The psychology of forgiveness can be described as such, “There is no middle ground to this decision. Either you decide to forgive the person who hurt you, or you hold on to bitterness and anger” (Richmond 2019). When a Brazilian man decides to act violently towards a woman, this leaves her with one of two options. Either she can choose to forgive the offender, or hold on to her feelings of resentment. However, in a society that is so broadly dominated by men, the safest option for a woman is to forgive. Fear of the consequences of retaliating, lack of governmental involvement in domestic abuse, and feelings of helplessness are all barriers that stand in a woman’s path to self defense in Brazil. When the victim is left no choice other than forgiveness, this further enables the offender by providing reasoning for their actions. I believe that the emphasis on forgiveness for sins in Catholicism is significant in explaining the propulsion of violence against women in Brazil.

PURITY

Another important principle of Catholicism is the idea of the virgin and the sense of purity that is associated with it. “Virginity implies a bodily integrity, visible evidence of which exists only in women. The Catholic faith teaches us that God preserved this bodily integrity in the blessed Virgin Mary, even during and after her childbirth” (Vermeersch 1912). This idea that virginity is so noble that God himself preserved this integrity in the Virgin Mary even before and after childbirth, has been emphasized and enforced since the dawn of Catholicism.

RELIGIOUS CATEGORIZATION OF WOMEN

This leaves two categories of women. You are either seen as a pure and sacred virgin, or a temptress and a whore. The Catholic ideas associated with virginity have very clearly translated into Brazilian society. We have discussed several times in our course that the gender roles are not reciprocal in regards to virginity. A man who has slept with many women is just a man, but a woman who has slept with multiple men has lost much of her intrinsic value in societies’ eye. We have also discussed how a man in Brazil wants his wife to be the ideal woman and stay within the confines of the home, but will freely associate himself with temptresses when seeking sex. If a woman who is a temptress has little respect in Brazilian society, not much can be done to stop a man to get what he wants from her. There were almost 50,000 reported rapes in Brazil in 2013 (Knoema 2013). The idea that virginity is pure, while any premarital sexual act a woman engages in is vile and dis-respectable, is a notable factor towards perpetuating violence against women in Brazil. The connotation with which the Catholic church describes a non-virgin female allows the normalization of violence against women through the mutual disrespect and antipathy towards freely promiscuous women.

HISTORY

Part of the goal of Portuguese colonialism in earlier centuries was the spread of Catholicism and the ‘civilization’ of other people. This Catholic legacy has changed the face of the former Portuguese colony of Brazil, which is now home to the largest number of Roman Catholics in the world (Pew Research Center, 2014). While condoning and encouraging domestic violence certainly is not the goal of the Catholic church, publications released by the church emphasize the fact that women are to take a subservient role in relationships and try to emulate the Virgin Mary in their thoughts and actions (Revill, J., & Hooper, J., 2004). It is also important to note that subsections of the Catholic church have often expressed views on domestic violence that are in contrast with a great deal of modern, humanitarian thinking, stating that women who face abuse at the hands of their husbands should stay and forgive their partners, as that is their duty as a Catholic woman (Gleeson, H., et. al., 2017). In order for one to understand the current state of affairs in Brazil, it is crucial for one to understand the history of a huge social cornerstone of Brazilian society: Catholicism.

One of the most extensive publications available documenting the history of the Catholic Church in Brazil has been compiled by the Harvard Divinity School’s Religious Literacy Project, which will serve as a major cornerstone of our understanding in this piece. According to this work, Catholicism began to take root in Brazil with the Portuguese conquest of the country in the sixteenth century, and Catholicism was the official religion of the state leading up to the First Republic. Attempts to loosen Catholicism’s hold over the country occurred during the short-lived First Republic, but such attempts were ill-fated because the religion already had land holdings and social and political sway in the country.

After the First Republic, the Catholic Church in Brazil supported certain authoritarian figures. According to some experts, this held back progressive political and social reforms in the country, as these figures had the most powerful social force in the country behind them. This precedent of supporting authoritarians halted during the military dictatorship as certain prominent figures in the Brazilian Catholic Church were censured or harmed. As the era of censorship and political oppression was ushered into Brazil, the Catholic Church faced problems such as increased urbanization causing a downturn in religiosity among the Brazilian populous and lowering levels of Catholic school enrollment. As the era of oppression wore on in the country, however, the Catholic Church once again rose in prominence as a safe haven for Brazilians, as the church and church figures fought to alleviate Brazilians from the crushing effects of increased poverty and they fought against aspects of the toxic machismic culture (Harvard Divinity School | Religious Literacy Project, 2019).

SIGNIFICANCE

As we have shown, the residual effects of Catholicism likely contributed to patriarchy and abuse of women in Brazil, and this is a fundamental violation of human rights. If a strong emphasis is not placed on religious freedom and eliminating domestic abuse in Brazil. The already ingrained culture and mindset of violence against women and following the ideals of the Church will continue to be passed down generation to generation, and the acceptance of domestic violence and abuse will never cease to exist.

In the year 2018, 65% of the population of Brazil was Roman Catholic or Other Catholic. The current number of women who are murdered in Brazil is 4 per day, on average 1,460 women will have been murdered by the end of this year with many of these being a result of a domestic violence. (Reuters,. 2019) In 2017 the number was 4,539, with cases of rape rising to 60,018. Considering that the Maria Da Penha law has been in effect for a few years now, the trend does appear to be decreasing at a snail like pace. Before this law was enacted there were even higher murder rates for women in Brazil.

Even with the implementation of the Maria Da Penha law, there is still little true change that has occurred. Based on the number of deaths that are still happening, there is still a need for vast changes to the legal system of Brazil, as well as altering the culture from the current patriarchal stance to one that is more favorable to the equality of women. A significant parallel to this slowly decreasing amount of women being killed is the rate at which Catholicism is decreasing as the dominant religion in Brazil.

Over the past 5 decades the percentage of the Brazilian population that is Catholic has decreased by 27%. (Pew,. 2014) In the 1970’s the percentage of the population of Brazil that was Catholic was 92%, in 2019 the population of Brazil is now 65% Catholic. (Mundi,. 2019) This decrease parallels the decrease in domestic violence in Brazil. While this is not the only factor, these two trends do correlate. Another key aspect is that the decrease in Catholicism had the sharpest decrease from the past ten years.

So the question becomes, why is this important? The most important, and most obvious answer is to end domestic violence and the murder of women in Brazil. An additional answer which could possibly add to the success of the first answer is to create a Brazilian culture in which women are not seen as the second class people that they are currently placed as. A Brazil where shooting your wife, keeping them hostage for days, and then trying to electrocute them does not result in just a 6 year prison sentence.

The Maria Da Penha law is a good first step to stopping violence against women in Brazil, but there is still a long way to go. The connection between a decrease in Patriarchal Catholicism and a decrease in the killing of women cannot be overlooked, especially when a patriarchal society will always see women as second class citizens. Those who are not entitled to basic human rights, and are struggling every day trying to gain those rights. While the rate of domestic violence against women is not likely to cease, it can be decreased to a greater extent then the rate at which it is currently decreasing.

OTHER CAUSES

Although Brazilian culture influenced by Catholicism is directly correlated with violence against women in Brazil, Catholicism alone is not the only factor. In fact, a large amount of violence can be connected to inadequate government regulation and legislation, in addition to historical roots of sexualization and oppression of women starting with the indigenous women of Brazil.

PENAL CODE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT

Rules and regulations put in place by Brazilian authorities have had a lasting impact on the culture of gender-based domestic violence. The result of many Penal Code additions and corrections have contributed to the attitudes and behaviors currently held in Brazil. Prior to Brazil’s independence in 1822, Portuguese colonial law allowed a husband who caught his wife committing adultery to kill her and her lover, though the reverse was not true. In 1830, post-independence, Brazil did away with this rule due to a new, Second Penal Code (Brazil Penal Code). However, men still widely held the notion that they could still murder their adulterous wives (Human Rights Watch 1991). This notion can still be seen today and a reason why husbands beat their wives.

Brazil’s Second Penal Code, enacted in 1890, incorporated an exemption from criminal responsibility for those who committed a crime “under a state of total perturbation of the senses and intelligence (Brazil Penal Code).” Therefore, if a husband claimed his wife’s behavior evoked such a strong behavior from him that he had “momentary insanity,” there was no crime (Human Rights Watch 1991). Wife-murder cases soon became defended as “acts of passion.”

The success of this argument to obtain acquittal for husbands charged with killing their wives brought on Brazil’s Third Penal Code that states “emotion or passion does not exclude criminal responsibility.” This Code change shifted the defense of “a passion killing” to a defense of honor. In essence, honor defense equalizes a wife's adulterous act (or allegedly adulterous act) to a physical act of aggression by the man. Because of this Code, men perceive domestic abuse as a result of protecting their integrity (Human Rights Watch 1991); it is up to the man to punish the female for threatening his reputation.

The first Civil Code passed in Brazil in 1914 came at a time when women were treated as perpetual wards, similar to minors and the elderly. Although women’s suffrage came in 1932 and the ability to work outside of the home without a husband’s permission came in 1962, the Civil Code still placed women in a subordinate status compared to their male counterparts (Human Rights Watch 1991). Even though women are deemed fully equal through the 1988 Constitution (Brazil Penal Code), the gender-based values instilled by these Codes still influence a violent patriarchal society prevalent today.

Crimes of abuse continue to go unpunished. Battery, rape and death are routine facts of life for many Brazilian women. Even though Brazil has made many advances in laws to punish abusers, nothing actionable is being carried out. Unfortunately, Brazilian people see domestic abuse as a “private problem,” not to be handled by the court system. When women do go to report aggressions, it is normal for law enforcement to believe they are responsible for the crimes they suffered. This behavior from authorities perpetuates violence against women and creates hesitation for those looking to report.

All of these rules and regulations have created an attitude within the Brazilian society that encourages violence towards women that is overlooked by the legal system.

ANTHROPOPHAGY

In one of the most famous sociological and poetic works written in the Portuguese language, O Manifesto Antropófago, Oswald de Andrade writes, “Only anthropophagy unites us. Socially. Economically. Philosophically,” (de Andrade, O., 1928). In his work, de Andrade uses prose to illustrate the significance of anthropophagy in the creation of the Brazilian zeitgeist. In the English language, the title of de Andrade’s work has been, with alarming frequency, translated to “The Cannibalistic Manifesto”. Unfortunately, this translation leaves the Anglican reader without a true understanding of the work, erroneously conflating the practices of cannibalism and anthropophagy. Anthropophagy, as noted by the scholar Adone Agnolin, is a distinct cultural practice of the Tupi people of Brazil that involves cultural consumption through the act of eating the body of a man (Agnolin, A., 2002). In this highly structured practice, the man chosen to be consumed by the people in the community will live amongst the community for months, and be given a wife. While the anthropophagic legacy of modern-day Brazil has not been examined, in the current literature on the topic, as a possible root of the high levels of violence committed against women in the country, anthropophagy as an explanation for the creation of the unique systemic gender dichotomy in Brazil is a perspective that we would like to examine- along with our examination of the Brazilian manifestation of patriarchal Catholicism- in this work.

Anthropophagy has been examined as a possible cause of racial disparities and discrimination in Brazil by scholar Marcelo Paixão, who expands upon de Andrade’s idea of Brazil as an anthropophagic culture (Paixão, M., 2015). The notion of Brazil as an anthropophagic culture emerged as part of an artistic movement, which involved the celebration of the Brazilian reality as a mixture of African, Portuguese, and indengenous cultures. This reality, as noted by Paixão and other prominent scholars, has led to the marked difficulty in defining race among the Brazilian people- a difficulty that is perhaps unparalleled in the world. Race is often defined in Brazil in terms of socio-economic status, and the existence of ‘social-whiteness’ is prominent. One can extrapolate this information, leading to the logical conclusion that a literal, and figurative, anthropophagic legacy could lead to the prominent levels of misogyny and violence committed against women that form one of the darker cornerstones of the Brazilian reality.

The most famous work written about the Tupi anthropophagic rituals can inform one’s understanding of the misogyny that would come to plague Brazil. This work, Warhafftige Historia vnnd beschreibung einer Landschafft der Wilden, Nackten Grimmigen Menschenfresser Leuthen in der Newen Welt America gelegen, written by German soldier, Hans Staden, is a written account of the author’s experience among the anthropophagic Tupinamabá people of what would later become Brazil. Staden’s account, although frequently criticized among modern-day scholars for its sensationalism and possible partial fabrication, informed the thoughts of a wider Europe, especially the Portuguese, during the conquest of Brazil. In his narrative, the particularities of the anthropophagic rituals of the Tupinamabá people were conveyed. Staden even included many drawings in his work, depicting a ritual that scared an unknowing European audience (Staden, H., 1557).

As few scholars have noted, Staden’s narrative and succeeding works depicted an important part of the anthropophagic ritual that would have weighed heavily upon the minds of the Portuguese settlers- the consumption of the penis, which was done by the Tupi women (Gândara, P., 2019). When Portuguese settlers, who were subsequently encouraged and forced to marry indigenous Brazilian women by law, observed this ritual, they became afraid of the Tupi women. This fear lead to increasing hostilities between the Portuguese men and the Tupi women, and the Portuguese men quelled their fears with aggression. This system of inter-marriage, which was rife with high levels of violence against women, built modern-day Brazil, which can explain the high levels of violence against women present in the country today.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the development of the patriarchal society that has come to define a part of the Brazilian reality has roots in traditional Catholicism. Concepts of purity and forgiveness, as well as female inferiority, that have been a cornerstone of toxic Latin American Catholicism, have lead to a subculture of abuse and femicide in the overwhelmingly Catholic Brazil. As religiosity declines in the country and around the world, perhaps certain patriarchal norms that have lead to the reality for Brazilian women will decline, but it is difficult to say how much will change as leniency is still given to the worst of domestic abusers.

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