CAPES Postdoctoral Researcher from INCT Participa, Luana do Rocio Taborda, has her doctoral dissertation nominated for the 2025 Brazilian Anpocs Competition for Scientific Works and University Theses in Social Sciences.
Luana do Rocio Taborda, a CAPES postdoctoral researcher at INCT Participa, had her doctoral dissertation “Religious Associations in Brazil and Portugal: Incentives and Repertoires of Action in the Public Arenas of Catholic Associations in the ‘Heart of the Church’” nominated for the 2025 Brazilian Anpocs Competition for Scientific Works and University Theses in Social Sciences.
She granted an interview to INCT Participa about her research, the significance of this nomination, the role of INCT Participa and her advisors in her academic journey, and the challenges within her field of study.
Read the main excerpts below.
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How did your interest in religious associations in Brazil and Portugal arise? Why compare the two countries? What is the importance of studying this topic?
My interest began during my undergraduate studies, when I worked in a religious association active in a peripheral region of Florianópolis. There, I got to know the “factory floor” and the work of civil society organizations involved in forums and councils. I realized that although religious associations are still major actors in the associative field and very active in participatory institutions, there was a gap in research about them. In my master’s research, I conducted a more local study on Catholic, Evangelical, and Spiritist associations. Later, during my doctoral studies — made possible through a cotutelle agreement — I took on the challenge of carrying out a comparative study examining the configurations of Catholic associativism in the first two decades of the 2000s in Brazil and Portugal. Aware that social sciences often tend to focus on what is “new” (actors, processes, etc.), I sought to explain the dynamics experienced by Catholic associations — the most traditional ones in the field — understanding that it is essential to study those who remain, and more importantly, how they do so, especially in critical conjunctures.
What did your dissertation bring that is new to the field? What were your main findings? How did your advisors help you through this process?
As for the main results of the dissertation, I attached to this interview the press release that I submitted along with the thesis — two pages summarizing its main findings.
However, I would like to highlight the importance of my advisors’ roles. I was fortunate to have two inspiring and brilliant women as mentors. Lígia Lüchmann, with whom I have worked since 2014, continues to impress me with her academic excellence and integrity. As one of the main references in the study of associativism, it is evident that this dissertation — and my entire academic trajectory — have been deeply influenced by and indebted to her work. I met Guya Accornero during my doctoral exchange at ISCTE-IUL in Lisbon. She lifted me to new theoretical and methodological horizons, encouraged me to embrace creativity without neglecting rigor, and supported me in countless ways. Beyond academic guidance, the sensitivity and care of these women allowed me to complete the dissertation despite numerous challenges.
What did you learn during the writing process? What are your next academic steps? Do you plan to continue studying religious associativism?
The main lesson was learning how to distinguish, with epistemological vigilance, what is my own responsibility in the research and writing process, and what are characteristics or limitations of the object/field itself. For a long time, I thought I was failing to understand something, until I realized that what I was observing was already a result of the research itself: Catholic associations have been experiencing complex processes, marked by ambivalence, with multiple projects and intentions coexisting. Therefore, they seek to adapt depending on the conjuncture, the actors involved, the scale (local or national), incentives, and demands — all in the pursuit of survival.
I am currently a postdoctoral researcher at INCT Participa, working on the project “Social Participation in the Lula 3 Government” under the supervision of Professors Carla Martelli (UNESP) and Carla Almeida (UEM). The study is situated within the Participation axis, one of my main research interests. The postdoctoral opportunity came at a very timely moment, as I felt the need to explore new objects after many years dedicated to religious associativism. However, I do intend to continue researching religious associativism, particularly the Evangelical one, since I have a large amount of material from the research that did not fit into the dissertation, and I feel responsible for making this data public.
What is the significance of this nomination? How did you receive the news, and how does it motivate you?
It was a pleasant surprise, given that I know the quality of the work produced by my colleagues at PPGSP – UFSC. This was the second nomination for my dissertation — the first was in Portugal, for the award of the Portuguese Association of Political Science (APCP). I saw it as public recognition for many years of intense work. The process of writing a dissertation tends to be quite solitary, and at countless moments I felt insecure about what I was doing. I realized that such uncertainties stemmed from a sense of estrangement within academia — a feeling common among “internal outsiders” — a lack of belonging and the sense of being an impostor. I come from a family of small farmers, worked hard since childhood, and studying was a luxury. One of my first thoughts after my dissertation defense was that my grandfather was illiterate, yet his granddaughter is now a doctor. So, on a personal level, the positive reception of my dissertation motivates me to trust more in my work and my choices.
I also understand that this nomination is the result of the excellent academic training I have received. I always say that I stand on the shoulders of giants — all those who have worked tirelessly in the field of social movements, participation, and collective action, especially members of NPMS (UFSC) and CIES in Portugal (ISCTE-IUL). It also attests to the importance of institutional and financial support. I entered UFSC through the public-school quota system, worked throughout my undergraduate studies, but from my master’s onward, I was able to dedicate myself fully to research and seize every opportunity, obtaining institutional and financial backing to carry out this investigation, with resources from CNPq and FCT (Portugal).
What is the current state of research on religious associativism in Brazil? What contributions do you see yourself making to the field and to INCT Participa?
Associativism has historically been a rather “peripheral” research area within the social sciences. Yet it represents an empirical necessity: associations are part of the daily lives of millions of Brazilians. The number of civil society organizations has been growing for decades, showing trends of diversification in fields, geographic presence, practices, and configurations that are remarkable. Associations are at the core of participatory institutions and activist networks, which means we need greater efforts to better explain their dynamics. However, it is a difficult object of study — due to a lack of data, fluidity, multiple organizational types (formal and informal), their multifocal nature, and other factors.
Focusing more specifically on religious associations, this subgroup includes both some of the oldest associations and the largest share of those created in recent decades. They have a strong and visible public presence, especially in the implementation of social policies. Given the current scenario of increasing religious influence in Brazilian public arenas, it becomes crucial to understand how the intense reconfigurations of the religious and political fields are shaping the configurations and repertoires of religious associations. As I discuss in my dissertation, studying religion is, in a sense, a way of profaning the sacred — and therefore, it brings specific challenges. With my research, I hope to contribute methodological strategies for studying these actors as well.
Finally, I would like to add that INCT Participa represents a major step forward in this regard: by adopting associativism as one of its central axes and promoting both partnerships and institutional and financial support, I believe it marks a turning point for the production of diagnoses that truly reflect Brazil’s associative ecologies. In the coming years, we will see the remarkable outcomes of all the intense work carried out by so many people. I feel privileged to be part of this.
