Evangelical Jurists and Human Rights in Brazil: A Case Study of the National Association of Evangelical Jurists (ANAJURE)

P. 51–69.

Pinto de Abreu C. J.

Over the last decade, evangelical jurist groups have emerged in Brazilian
courts. Intervening in public controversies about the meaning of human rights, they
confronted the agendas of the feminist and LGBTQI+ movements. This phenomenon did not occur as a denial of the importance of advancing the issue of human
rights, but, on the contrary, in accordance with the normative public sphere and the
procedures for demanding rights in modern democratic societies. From a genealogical approach, this chapter addresses the collective mobilization process of jurists on
behalf of evangelicals’ interests in Brazil, focusing on the relationship these groups
maintain with LGBTQI+ movements in contentious processes involving rights
claims. From the public controversy surrounding criminalizing violence against
homosexuals to the judgment of this issue by the Supreme Federal Court, the
mobilization of evangelical groups in the legal world is analyzed. The material
comprises documents, interviews and statements on the themes of homophobia
and homosexuality made by members of the National Association of Evangelical
Jurists (ANAJURE). They redefine human rights claims made in the courts by
LGBTQI+ subjects, contesting the legitimacy of the acceptance of these demands
by these institutions of power. Although they emerged at the intersection of law and
religion, these groups use their legal identity to gain public recognition and intervene
in controlling the borders between the worlds of law and politics.

Keywords: human rights, advocacy, freedom of speech, homosexuality, evangelicals

In book

Religious Pluralism and Law in Contemporary Brazil

Springer, 2023.