The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in the news: melodrama and factual record

Ester Amaral de Paula Minga

doi:10.17231/comsoc.42(2022).3964

The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in the news: melodrama and factual record

Ester Amaral de Paula Minga

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

The controversial establishment of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in Portugal was the subject of many news reports during the 1990s, in which accusations of serious crimes — from charlatanism to connections to drug trafficking and child abduction — filled the pages of newspapers (G. M. Dias, 2006; R. A. S. Dias, 2016; Farias, 1999; Farias & Santos, 1999; Júnior, 2013; Machado, 2003). Many of these news reports linked the Church with stereotypes about Brazil and Brazilians and referenced Brazilian soap operas, which were quite popular in the country at the time. To observe whether these characteristics have been maintained over the years, the author analysed reports published by the influential newspapers Público and Expresso from the early 21st century (2001 and 2002), in 2010 and 2017, respectively. Inspired by critical discourse analysis and framing analysis, and with the theoretical support of the theory of social representations, such analyses allowed the author to conclude that the characteristics identified in the 1990s remained, although the Church’s media presence has since reduced. In turn, the reference to soap operas manifests in the fabric of journalistic discourse, with a hybridisation formed between the melodramatic and informational genres.

Translated title of the contribution	A Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus em notícia: melodrama e registo factual
Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	71-92
Number of pages	22
Journal	Comunicação e Sociedade
Volume	42
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.17231/comsoc.42(2022).3964
Publication status	Published - 16 Dec 2022

Keywords

Social representations
Journalism
Universal Church of the Kingdom of God
Melodrama
Soap operas

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/39803Licence: CC BY

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CECC: Research Centre for Communication and Culture
Lopes, A., Martins, A., Santos, L., Gil, I. C., Vieira, I. E., Hanenberg, P., Cachola, A. C., Maurício, A. F., Albuquerque, A., Ribeiro, N., Valdigem, C., Ganito, C., Oliveira, F., Abrantes, A. M., Bernardo, A. M., Matoso, A., Emonts, A. M., Beaufils, A., Mora, A. C., Arêas, C., Burnay, C. D., Ferreira, C., Louchet, C., Gil, C., Gonçalves, D., Torres, E. C., Dias, P., Ilharco, F., Trapani, G. A., Bär, G., Guarda, F. V., Cheng, G., Coelho, I., Fonseca, I. A., Duarte, J. R., Roberts, J. S., Moura, J., Silva, J., Simão, J., Lourenço, J. F., Carvalho, J. V. D., Alves, J. S., Sardica, J., Cruz, M. A., Bello, M. D. R. L., Capucho, M. F., Mendes, M. S., Fragoso, G., Moniz, M. L., Faria, L. L. D., Victorino, M., Lopes, M. D. S., Franco Barros, M., Quadrio, M., Brandão, N. G., Amado, N., Conde, N., Anzini, P., Pinto, P. C., Maia, R. B., Faria, R., Figueiras, R., Santos, R., Brás, R. M., Pinto, S., Dix, S., Ganito, T., Seruya, T., Ferreira, T. J., Barbosa, Á. M. M., Colla, E., Terenas, G. G., Rosa, G. P., Cunha, J. B. D., Andrade, J. G., Mendes, J. M. V., Sá, L., Caeiro, M., Fuks, R., Lindemann Lino, V., Dias, M., Oliveira, V., Lopes, A., Godinho, C., Carvalho, A. L. C., Mauro, A. P., Navas de Pereira, G., Mason, M. R., Junguito, M., Müller, N., Brant, A., Kovič, A., Barreto, A. I., Brasil, A. C., Duarte, A., Aires, A. R. M., Casado, A. M. D. S., Vale, C., Ni, B., Ambulo, B., Caldeira, C., Riordan, C. M., Fernandes, D. M. D. S., Cardoso, E. P., Komatsu, E., Smirnova Cordas, E., Duffy, E. M. P., Rudari, F., Adu-Kankam, G., Simões, H., Silva, I. F., Baguia, J. A., Biscainho, J., Oliveira, J. P. M. M. F. D., Fonseca, J. B., Moreira, J., Klein, M. J., Bicheiro, L. P. D. S., Hilsdorf, L. M., Koncz, L., Rodrigues, L. P. R., Elnaiem, M., Sousa, M. D. N., Falcón, M., Costa, M. T. D. C., Thaler, M. T., Fonseca, M., Peters, D., Danilova, N., Husch, O., Monteiro, P. A., Teixeira, P., Santos, P., P. Rodrigues, P. R., Krolow, P. J., Trindade, R., Gomes, R. T., Ross, R., Ferreira, R. L. S. D. S., Marcondes, R. D. S., Martínez, I., Yousef, R. A., Leasca, S. K., Al-Hassan, T., Pinheiro, T. S. V. D. C., Herold, V., Page, V. M., Barradas, M. F., Arnuco, M., Resende, F., Yang, Y., Curvelo, R., Barros, C., Pereira, A., Minga, E., Cacchioli, S., Marra, S., Coutinho, M., Freire, C., Coelho, A., Adebusuyi, A. O., Arnese, C., Avelar, M. J. M., Bossone, F., Cardoso, P. M. D. B., Cardoso, T. A. N., Chumbo, I. A., Claro, R., Cruz, C. S. M. V., Dobson, J. M., Estevão, A. M., Fernandes, I. F., França, M. G. V., Gonçalves, M. D. M., Grosso, C. B. L. D. M., Khachatryan, R., Léger, J., Lourenço, I. F. C., Martins, P. M., Mendes, C. M., Miller, R. L., Muneeb, F., Munir, S., Mutsch, T., Pinto, N. A. L., Rouhvand, H., Santana, J., Santos, D. & Varzi, C. M.
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1/01/20 → 31/12/23
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title = "The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in the news: melodrama and factual record",

abstract = "The controversial establishment of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in Portugal was the subject of many news reports during the 1990s, in which accusations of serious crimes — from charlatanism to connections to drug trafficking and child abduction — filled the pages of newspapers (G. M. Dias, 2006; R. A. S. Dias, 2016; Farias, 1999; Farias & Santos, 1999; J{\'u}nior, 2013; Machado, 2003). Many of these news reports linked the Church with stereotypes about Brazil and Brazilians and referenced Brazilian soap operas, which were quite popular in the country at the time. To observe whether these characteristics have been maintained over the years, the author analysed reports published by the influential newspapers P{\'u}blico and Expresso from the early 21st century (2001 and 2002), in 2010 and 2017, respectively. Inspired by critical discourse analysis and framing analysis, and with the theoretical support of the theory of social representations, such analyses allowed the author to conclude that the characteristics identified in the 1990s remained, although the Church{\textquoteright}s media presence has since reduced. In turn, the reference to soap operas manifests in the fabric of journalistic discourse, with a hybridisation formed between the melodramatic and informational genres.",

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author = "Minga, {Ester Amaral de Paula}",

year = "2022",

month = dec,

day = "16",

doi = "10.17231/comsoc.42(2022).3964",

language = "English",

volume = "42",

pages = "71--92",

journal = "Comunica{\c c}{\~a}o e Sociedade",

issn = "1645-2089",

publisher = "Centro de Estudos de Comunica{\c c}{\~a}o e Sociedade (CECS)",

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AU - Minga, Ester Amaral de Paula

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N2 - The controversial establishment of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in Portugal was the subject of many news reports during the 1990s, in which accusations of serious crimes — from charlatanism to connections to drug trafficking and child abduction — filled the pages of newspapers (G. M. Dias, 2006; R. A. S. Dias, 2016; Farias, 1999; Farias & Santos, 1999; Júnior, 2013; Machado, 2003). Many of these news reports linked the Church with stereotypes about Brazil and Brazilians and referenced Brazilian soap operas, which were quite popular in the country at the time. To observe whether these characteristics have been maintained over the years, the author analysed reports published by the influential newspapers Público and Expresso from the early 21st century (2001 and 2002), in 2010 and 2017, respectively. Inspired by critical discourse analysis and framing analysis, and with the theoretical support of the theory of social representations, such analyses allowed the author to conclude that the characteristics identified in the 1990s remained, although the Church’s media presence has since reduced. In turn, the reference to soap operas manifests in the fabric of journalistic discourse, with a hybridisation formed between the melodramatic and informational genres.

AB - The controversial establishment of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in Portugal was the subject of many news reports during the 1990s, in which accusations of serious crimes — from charlatanism to connections to drug trafficking and child abduction — filled the pages of newspapers (G. M. Dias, 2006; R. A. S. Dias, 2016; Farias, 1999; Farias & Santos, 1999; Júnior, 2013; Machado, 2003). Many of these news reports linked the Church with stereotypes about Brazil and Brazilians and referenced Brazilian soap operas, which were quite popular in the country at the time. To observe whether these characteristics have been maintained over the years, the author analysed reports published by the influential newspapers Público and Expresso from the early 21st century (2001 and 2002), in 2010 and 2017, respectively. Inspired by critical discourse analysis and framing analysis, and with the theoretical support of the theory of social representations, such analyses allowed the author to conclude that the characteristics identified in the 1990s remained, although the Church’s media presence has since reduced. In turn, the reference to soap operas manifests in the fabric of journalistic discourse, with a hybridisation formed between the melodramatic and informational genres.

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KW - Journalism

KW - Universal Church of the Kingdom of God

KW - Melodrama

KW - Soap operas

KW - Representações sociais

KW - Jornalismo

KW - Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus

KW - Melodrama

KW - Telenovelas

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JO - Comunicação e Sociedade

JF - Comunicação e Sociedade

SN - 1645-2089

ER -

The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in the news: melodrama and factual record

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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Projects

CECC: Research Centre for Communication and Culture

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