“Quando il servizio è gratis il prodotto sei tu”. Religioni imprenditoriali ed emergenza sanitaria nel carcere portoghese

Abstract

This article focuses on the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (IURD), one of the most powerful entrepreneurial religions. Analyzing its “marketing strategy” based on donations and humanitarian support, I want to shed light on IURD’s presence and ambiguous positioning within a female Portuguese prison. On the one side, IURD highlights the connections between its values and prison order. On the other side, IURD aims to penetrate the thick layers of prison governance, especially during the critical juncture of Covid-19 pandemic. I will show the way IURD frames its action within new neoliberal penal ideologies that challenge secularism, reinforcing at the same time control and security.

Keywords

• Pentecostals
• IURD
• secularism
• prison ethnography
• humanitarian support.