A young teenager at
school is a victim of bullying,
as his friends learn
that he and his family
profess an African
religion. Spiritualist
temple is vandalized in
the dead of night, set
on fire, and destroyed.
Ecumenical television
events with the presence
of spiritists omits
mediumship as one of the
pillars of the doctrine.
Protest against
religious intolerance
goes unnoticed in the
spiritist press.
Spiritist books shop at
the city's bus station
is persecuted by
excessive municipal
inspections due to
religious intolerance.
We, spiritists, when we
become aware of some of
these facts narrated in
the paragraph above,
look to the side, as if
this problem were not
ours, based on the idea
that Spiritism is a
religion with a
Christian matrix and
places itself alongside
hegemonic groups, above
any persecution or
intolerance.
We forget that freedom
of worship and respect
for religious
manifestations is a
principle of plurality,
of good social
coexistence, and that
the hostility towards
different beliefs is an
offense to the principle
of charity, causing
suffering to others, in
a way that is completely
contrary to what we
preach in Spiritism.
We think we are part of
the hegemonic group, and
we hide the traits
related to mediumship
and reincarnation, in
the search to be more
accepted, as many
remember, deep down,
near half a century ago
when we were the object
of blatant persecution.
After all, we have been
considered crime in the
penal code. And to
escape our oppression,
sometimes we position
ourselves as oppressors.
We still believe that
there is a right
religion compared to
other wrong ones, and
that the others must be
fought. A thought that
is completely foreign to
spiritist ideals, and
literature, which shows
spirits acting where
there is good, and that
religion, whatever it
may be, is an instrument
to support evolution,
even though so much evil
is seen done in the name
of God.
The topic of religious
intolerance should
feature prominently on
the agenda of the
spiritist movement. Be
the subject of debates
and studies. The most
curious thing about this
issue is that sometimes
a stance of intolerance
is defended based on the
idea of doctrinal
purity, contrasted with
a silence in relation to
the import of models and
practices that are
completely foreign to
spiritist foundations,
but accepted only
because they come from
Christian-based
religions.
There is also the denial
of the problem, in the
affirmation that our
country is plural, and
that this religious
intolerance is fanciful.
This thesis is out of
touch with the facts.
The II Report on
Religious Intolerance:
Brazil, Latin America
and the Caribbean,
publication organized by
the Center for
Articulation of
Marginalized Populations
and the Observation of
Religious Freedoms, with
support from the
Representation of the
United Nations
Educational, Scientific
and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) in
Brazil - LINK-1 - indicates
an impressive increase
in cases.
Data from the portal
Dial 100, from the then
Ministry of Women,
Family and Human Rights,
indicate the occurrence
of 477 cases of
religious intolerance in
2019, 353 cases in 2020
and 966 cases in 2021,
considering that the
pandemic phenomenon of
Covid-19 may have
affected the fall in
2020. Data from 2022
indicate an upward trend
in cases – check it out
by clicking on this LINK-2 –
and, as you can imagine,
religions of African
origin are always among
the most affected.
Actors in society,
including religious
denominations, have
positioned themselves to
promote religious
tolerance, and yes,
there are spiritualists
officially and
unofficially involved in
these struggles, but it
is also clear that
despite the efforts of
some, including the
Brazilian Spiritist
Federation (FEB), this
theme, so to speak, is
not highlighted on the
movement's agenda, which
is materialized through
the texts, speeches, and
production.
And no, this is not a
political topic. If it
is, it is no more than
other themes that have a
political impact and
that are embraced
effusively by the
spiritist movement. This
is a theme of human
coexistence, fraternity,
and dialogue. Topics
dear to us, and
intolerance is something
concrete, which
manifests itself in
micro relationships,
housed in minds and
attitudes.
We continue to believe
that this is a problem
of other denominations,
that we are anointed and
that we are outside of
this persecution,
forgotten in the past,
the present that we have
not detected and our
duty to understand the
different expressions of
dealing with the issue
of spirituality, as
social phenomena,
historical and human.
Society continues to
move, and January 21st
is the National Day to
Combat Religious
Intolerance (Brazil),
established by Federal
Law No. 11,635, of 2007,
and in January 2023, Law
No. 14,532, of 11
January 2023, which
equates racial insult to
racism and creates the
crime of collective
racial insult, in
addition to providing
new penalties for cases
of racism in religions,
sporting activities and
recreation. Valuable
initiatives, but our
point here is more
internal, the
invisibility of this
debate in the spiritist
house.
And how can we reverse
this, without descending
into a politicized and
polarized debate? Well,
January 21st is a good
opportunity to build an
agenda for debates,
whether on the platform
or in written text,
promoting reflection on
the extent to which we
can attack this issue
within ourselves,
building an environment
of tolerance of
religions from each one
of us.
We have concrete cases
where this intolerance
manifests itself in the
spiritist center. Just
to give an example: how
do we react when a
spirit manifests itself
in a mediumistic meeting
using expressions
typical of the African
matrix? When in
fraternal care a person
reveals that they have
come from a spiritualist
home, how do we behave?
If the colleague says at
the spiritist center
that he only goes there
because he likes the
studies, but in the
mediumistic part, he
goes to another
denomination, what do we
respond?
It is not an absorption
of Spiritism by other
practices, but a
charitable understanding
that syncretism
permeates religious
practice in the country,
and that if the person
went to the spiritist
house, they are looking
for something, and that
demands respectful
treatment and kindness
towards other’s beliefs.
This, obviously, is very
different from the
grafting of different
contents to Kardecian
logic in texts,
lectures, and books. But
even these questions
must be the subject of
fraternal analysis,
avoiding truculent
censure, in a good
dialogue that promotes
reflection on what
Spiritism is or is not,
and what factors lead to
one understanding and
not another. Reasoned
faith is built through
dialogue and arguments
and not through leaflets
on prohibited topics.
The spiritist center can
also, in the winds of
January 21st, work not
only on intramural
intolerance, but also on
everyday conduct, in the
face of a co-worker who
espouses ideas different
from yours, in
situations of
discrimination in the
school environment and
even, in the family,
especially with the
formation of couples
where the one who
arrives has a different
religion.
The exercise of
tolerance is a
manifestation of
charity, and even if we
do not agree with the
vision of the other's
transcendence, this does
not imply that they are
our enemy, the source of
evil, or something to be
fought against. As the
adage that I heard a lot
in my spiritist youth
goes, the boss is the
same, just the ticket
window changes. And many
appear pompous at
certain ticket windows,
but in practice they
serve other bosses.
When we arrive in the
country of light, the
credential that will be
asked of us is that of
spiritual evolution, and
this can happen in any
culture and in any
religious denomination,
always remembering
another slogan dear to
Spiritism, that much
will be given to those
whom much will be asked.
There is no guarantee of
evolution for adhering
to belief A or B. They
are just instruments of
evolution.
In fact, it is always
worth remembering that
by being intolerant,
using violence when
dealing with other
denominations, we are
bringing into the
Spiritist practice views
that are foreign to its
essence, which is a form
of distortion of
Spiritism, contradictory
because we claim
intolerance for
doctrinal purity,
collaborating with this
in practice.
It is important that
this topic, which should
not be dry, appears on
our agenda. It is
nothing strange to us,
whether inside or
outside the spiritist
house, and in the
insertion of Spiritism
in society. Dialogue
between religions can be
an object of synergy,
maintaining the identity
of each belief and its
assumptions. The free
exercise of worship is a
right of every citizen,
and we are all subject
to having to invoke this
right. And many
spiritists have had
serious problems
exercising their faith.
Tolerance breeds
tolerance. Dialogue is
the strong brick in
building bridges.
Synergy in common spaces
is a mark of civility
and fraternal spirit.
Jesus said that his
disciples will be
recognized for loving
each other. Love also
requires respect for
those who believe
differently from us, and
also for those who do
not believe in anything.
These are all temporary
labels, sporadic, and
what remains is the
spirit, the essence,
which walks the path of
evolution with brothers
hand in hand.
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