The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in Australia: Local Congregants and a Global Spiritual Network

The Brazilian megachurch, the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG), has a global network of branches. Its Australian headquarters is a dynamic spiritual space where ideas, people, material culture and spirits are exchanged from across the globe. This article follows the journey of a single...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Openshaw, Kathleen (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Equinox Publ. [2019]
In: Journal for the academic study of religion
Year: 2019, Volume: 32, Issue: 1, Pages: 27-48
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Australia / Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus / Spirituality / Social network / Internationality
IxTheo Classification:AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
KBR Latin America
KBS Australia; Oceania
Further subjects:B Networks
B Material Religion
B Spiritual Capital
B Migration
B assemblages
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
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Description
Summary:The Brazilian megachurch, the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG), has a global network of branches. Its Australian headquarters is a dynamic spiritual space where ideas, people, material culture and spirits are exchanged from across the globe. This article follows the journey of a single vial of oil to illustrate the global flows that take place through the UCKG Australia. With each stop the vial accrues spiritual capital before its final destination. Drawing on two years of ethnographic research, I argue that the UCKG's global networks allow congregants access to, and enables them to pass on, spiritual capital thus providing personal agency to overcome life difficulties via supernatural means. Through this vial's journey, I will show how global religious practices are locally lived and highlight the local spiritual significance of globally mobile religious material culture.
ISSN:2047-7058
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal for the academic study of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1558/jasr.37074