Thematizing the relationship between religion and the public sphere, this article analyses the religious agents’ discursive operations which advocate for a necessary protagonism of religious institutions and beliefs on public projects, especially those related to social work. Comparing the interviews of Pentecostal leaders and leaders of the Catholic Charismatic Renovation movement allows us to identify the increasing secular fluency of these leadership. Despite historically being the least intelectuallized among the christian leaderships, this secular fluency qualifies them to criticize the modern discourse from within. Focusing on the borders of scientific medical practices and rational discourses of human promotion - especially related to the recovery of drug addiction -, these leaders stand up for a greater role of religion on this type of social and public health issue. Finally, this paper discusses how empirical researches as this one are key spaces to promote and develop connections between religious and secular speeches.
Pentecostalism; Catholic Charismatic Renovation; Social Action; Public Sphere; Religious Leadership