Religious addiction: mobilizing a congregational response

Regina A Pinto-Moura

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Religious addiction: mobilizing a congregational response

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MLA citation style (9th ed.)

Regina A Pinto-Moura. Religious Addiction: Mobilizing a Congregational Response. Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/f52e47a9-bee1-4ccf-b569-3666714183f3.

APA citation style (7th ed.)

R. A. Pinto-moura. Religious addiction: mobilizing a congregational response. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/f52e47a9-bee1-4ccf-b569-3666714183f3

Chicago citation style (CMOS 17, author-date)

Regina A Pinto-Moura. Religious Addiction: Mobilizing a Congregational Response. Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/f52e47a9-bee1-4ccf-b569-3666714183f3.

Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.

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Regina A Pinto-Moura

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Abstract

There are important issues among immigrant churches in Massachusetts, such as abuse of pastoral authority and the need for new healthy religious approaches. Evangelical communities have become fragmented due to a number of destructive behaviors. The result is that a convergence of powerful stresses in directly harming the Brazilian community. Despite the diversity of beliefs and practices, many Brazilian immigrants have been sustained in the displacement and adaptation to American society by regular church attendance. However, many have burned out. There is a dearth of research addressing addiction and spiritual abuse among members of Brazilian Christian Churches. The goal of this thesis is to explore and clearly identify how this spiritual abuse has occurred, what its impacts on the community are and to suggest some approaches to heal the victims. First, the paper examines some of the root causes of dysfunction in Brazilian churches. Second, a review of pertinent literature on understanding Brazilians and their faith is presented. Third, systems thinking is used to determine the current level of dysfunction and abuse in order to identify strategies for healing. Finally, specific strategies and proposals for intervention are identified.

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