EMPREENDEDORISMO RELIGIOSO: A ADMISSÃO DE PRÁTICAS DE ADMINISTRAÇÃO CAPITALISTA PELA IGREJA UNIVERSAL DO REINO DE DEUS.

Abstract

This work studies the religious entrepreneurship in the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG or Universal Church) through the characterization, analysis and reflection on capitalist practices of administration identified during compilation of data. It is a study that emphasizes the identification of major authors and works of Weber's sociological tradition. Thereupon, we carried out a description, followed by small analysis, discussions and reflections on the UCKG management practices and how these are presented in the Brazilian religious market. The methodology applied is the review of literature, in which stands out Max Weber, main theoretical axis of the work, as well as Antonio Flavio Pierucci and his look at the different levels of growth and modernization of Christian groups; Leonildo Silveira Campos and Ricardo Mariano, with its assumptions about success in Pentecostal and neo-Pentecostal expansion, which is part of the Universal Church; Ari Pedro Oro, which discusses the relationship between money and magic in neo-Pentecostalism and clashes and appropriations concerning the Afro-Brazilian religions; Ronaldo de Almeida and Paulo Gracino Junior, who talk about the religious transit opportunities and directions of its flow; besides Eduardo Refkalefsky, Karla Regina Patriot and Andrew Ricardo de Souza, whose work allows to understand how the UCKG management practices resemble strongly to capitalist companies competing in the global market. The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God is an institution which, over the past four decades, has shown great capacity of expanding against its competitors in the Brazilian religious market and stands out mainly by its competence in positioning itself through effective marketing strategies and media, which together with other factors guarantee you the lead in offering magical/religious services. The results of this research reinforce the perception that the entrepreneurial activities of the leaders of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God aim to grant a protagonist role to institution in the religious market through use modern management strategies. Thereby, entrepreneurship is presented as one of the reasons for the success of the Universal Church.