Christianity is a major religion matrix in the occidental world. Many social scientists, such as Louis Dumont and Marshall Sahlins, tend to relate it to ideological (meaning values and ideas) context, namely the modernity. This paper intends to show the non homogenous character of the features of post-life in this ...
(Show more)Christianity is a major religion matrix in the occidental world. Many social scientists, such as Louis Dumont and Marshall Sahlins, tend to relate it to ideological (meaning values and ideas) context, namely the modernity. This paper intends to show the non homogenous character of the features of post-life in this dominant religion in Western societies. Instead, the figures that compose Hell and Heaven in literature, paintings, sculptures, movies and other artistically and religiously sources are not similar from place to place or times to times. In other words, we must not speak in a transcendental Hell or Heaven inside Christianity.
The paper will focus on the figure of Satan, God, punishments and salvations in different contexts. First, to show the history of this imaginary in European countries (and even intending to not present it as unity of representations); then to show in Brazil’s Northeastern, a place where Christian values were particularly modified to fit the very arid place and culture. Satan and God present different characters and images in these two continents. Not to mention through time.
We must say, then, that the comparative perspective shows us that even the most transcendental things that might happen is nonetheless imbedded in a cultural position in time and place.
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