Epistemic Ambivalence

This book delves into the complex relationship between religious imaginaries and the perception of space among followers of Candomblé and Pentecostal churches in Belo Horizonte, Brazil's third-largest urban agglomeration. It adopts a dual perspective, examining the broader political, economic, and social dimensions of these religious communities' urbanisation and spatial distribution and their members' individual beliefs and behaviours. Through this approach, the book aims to provide a nuanced and insider's view of these religious positions, challenging our preconceived notions of urban spaces and contributing to the larger discussion of decolonial urban theory and spatialised post-secular thought. This transdisciplinary book will appeal to a broad range of researchers, particularly those interested in urban and religious studies. Its strong spatial perspective makes it attractive to architects and urban designers. It will be of interest to those in human geography, urban planning, design, architecture, political science, religious studies, and culture studies. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial (CC-BY-NC) 4.0 license.

Daniel Medeiros de Freitas is a professor in the Urban Department at the School of Architecture and Urbanism, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). He is an author of Field of Power of the Large Scale Urban Projects (2017) and one of the editors of the book City-Estate-Capital: Urban Restructuring and Resistances in Belo Horizonte, Fortaleza and São Paulo (2018) Carolina Maria Soares Lima is a Geographer, master in geography, and MBA in social politics. Her research interests include urban arts, the notion of representation and public spaces in Latin America. Carolina is currently a PhD candidate in Architecture and Urbanism at the Federal University of Minas Gerais. Krzysztof Nawratek is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Humanities and Architecture at the University of Sheffield, UK and a Visiting Professor at Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Minas Gerais, Brazil. He is the author of City as a Political Idea (2011), Holes in the Whole: Introduction to Urban Revolutions (2012), Radical Inclusivity: Architecture and Urbanism (ed. 2015), Urban Re-Industrialisation (ed. 2017), Total Urban Mobilisation: Ernst Junger and Postcapitalist City (2018) and Kuala Lumpur: Community, Infrastructure and Urban Inclusivity (co-authored with Marek Kozlowski and Asma Mehan, 2020). Bernardo Miranda Pataro is an International Analyst and Social Scientist, currently enrolled in the Master's programme in Sociology at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. His research interests include the relationship between religion and violence as well as religion and politics, and production of identities in modernity and international security.

1. Introduction: The confusing religious landscape in Brazil 2. Flattening power structure (we have been being preached to) 3. Conquer or hide 4. Profane space does not exist 5. Religious infrastructure 6. Temple, street, home, and nature 7. Interlude: Religion and music (Daniel's story) 8. Beyond space (lessons from the pandemic) 9. Conclusions: Demolishing the Babel