Terceiro setor e religião: investigando afinidades e relacionando catolicismo, ética, direito, caridade e cidadania

Abstract

Under an interdisciplinary configuration, the herein work investigates presence and influence of religion in construction and operation of the third sector, specially the elective affinities between catholic ethics and activism in social sector. On the investigation of the influence of ethics-religious motivations, specially charity and solidarity , in the space ocupied by non governamental organizations (NGOs), specially by social assistance, in wide sense, we have listed catholicism, ethics, law, charity and citizenship and we have investigated the models of social intervention in our society of rights. Fot both, we have revealead the complexity of third sector, its dimension, its characteristics, features, involved pressures, its profitable side, its function in a social capitalist formation, miths and facts. We have also unveiled sense and meaning of religion including what they believe and what they don´t believe and we have revealed the uncontroversial and the controversies of secularization. These questions are crucial to understand the place and the role of religion on the construction and operation of civil society on a Democratic State of Secular Right. Then, we show the rationality of religion-ethics-life conduction articulation and in order to show the elective affinity between catholic ethics and activism in social sector, we have investigated the social doctrine of Catholic Church, its tensions, conflicts, ambiguities, complementarities, articulations and fluidity involving the way of intervention of the Church in socio economic issues. Finally we present empirical data we have colected in order to illustrate the dissertation. Thereby we intend to demonstrate that religious factors are important elements of analysis for a wide and realistic understanding of third sector; it is actually to counteract to conceptual and ideological distortions that indicate ethical-religious values as negative factors for social development. The understanding of influence of religion in operation of third sector might be an important ally for the construction of a free, fair and solidary society, as well as stipulates Federal Constitution