Bonhoeffer on the Public Role of the Church – a View from the Contemporary Brazilian Political and Religious Scenario

Abstract A religious phenomenon that has been observed by many religious researchers in the last years is the numerical growth of the Evangelical population in Brazil. The vast majority of this expression of the Christian faith is formed by Pentecostals and Neopentecostals. With this massive growth, the Evangelical presence in Brazilian society is more and more visible, especially inasmuch as Evangelicals are getting more involved in politics. This article aims to analyze the public presence of the Evangelical Brazilian church in society from the perspective of the ecclesiology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The article presents first Bonhoeffer’s ecclesiology. Then, it presents Bonhoeffer’s understanding of the church’s role in the world. The last part of the article brings considerations on public theology and two practical points from Bonhoeffer’s theology that are of the highest importance for the Brazilian Evangelical church – preaching and the defence of human rights.