“Let’s figh for our rights, now or never!” Building a collective Umbanda-identity in Argentina

Abstract

The type of religious organization characteristic of Afro-American religions allows for the transformation of personal identities -achieving individual conversions that make possible their expansion- but is not particularly suited for the construction of collective identities that can make possible collective action leading toward their social legitimation. Using perspectives developed in the study of social movements, the article analyzes the example of Afro-Brazilian religions in Argentina to show how religious leaders who strive for the legitimation of their religion must develop collective action frames that can make possible the construction of collective identities. To this end, they must mobilize economic and symbolic resources internal and external to their religion and take advantage of the changing opportunity structures offered by their social environment. The difficulties in creating a collective identity are particularly detrimental when religious leaders must strive hard to counter the stigmatization they endure in the new social contexts into which their religions expand. Keywords: Religion; Umbanda; Social movements; Social Identities; Religious organizations