Beyond Brazil – Diaspora as Practice, Lusospheric Space, and Butinage in Transnational Brazilian Religions

Abstract This article examines the intersections of religion, migration, and identity formation within Brazilian transnational contexts, arguing that Brazilian religions abroad are best understood through the combined lenses of diaspora as practice, Lusospheric space, and butinage. Rather than relying on conventional nation-centered diaspora framings, the article conceptualizes diaspora as a performative and relational category, shaped by actors who mobilize diasporic narratives and networks in situated ways. Drawing on post- and decolonial theories, it critiques existing uses of the diaspora concept—particularly in scholarship that positions “Brazil” as a fixed analytical origin—and highlights how Lusophone linguistic, historical, and postcolonial ties structure transnational religious fields. To capture the fluidity of religious engagement across borders, the concept of butinage is introduced as a value-neutral metaphor for religious cross-pollination and selective movement between ritual repertoires, institutions, and media. Illustrative examples from existing studies of Pentecostal, Afro-Brazilian, and Spiritist traditions in Germany and other regions demonstrate how Brazilian religious actors compose hybrid forms of belonging and negotiate multi-sited identities within wider Lusospheric networks. The article concludes that this conceptual triad offers a more precise framework for analyzing the dynamic reconfiguration of religion, language, and mobility in Brazilian diasporic settings, with implications for broader debates on transnational religion, narrative transformation, and epistemic justice.