Diversidade cultural: um conceito fundamental para o estudo dos fenômenos religiosos modernos

The approaches to studying the place of religion in societies have changed over time. These changes are usually associated with some social, economic or political phenomenon that calls on social scientists to change the course of their researches: from the end of religion to its return or to its understanding in different modernities. In the first decade and a half of the 21st-century, signs that we are undergoing a new phase are evident. International migration and, consequently, cultural transnationalism suggest the construction of an increasingly more diverse social frame with consequences on many aspects of modern societies’ cultural life. In this study, we propose the identification of new analytical grids – such as cultural diversity – in the study of religion, but also the development of an index of diversity to establish correlations with other dimensions of religiosity. We believe this is one of the few available methods to understand the current transformations or displacements of religion in contemporary societies.