A CAMINHO DO TEMPLO MÃE: UM ESTUDO SOBRE AS MOTIVAÇÕES RELIGIOSAS DOS MEMBROS GOIANOS DO VALE DO AMANHECER

Abstract

The present research aims to investigate the religious motivation behind the adhesion of the members from Goiás to the Valley of the Dawn, with special emphasis on the Templo Tarajo do Amanhecer in Terezópolis de Goiás. The hypothesis elaborated presents the identity traits of the group that revealed in the research: the search for the sacred as motivation for meaning in the individual’s life within the scenario of late modernity. In this context of fluid relationships, the quest for and the experience of the sacred fill the life of the adept with a sense of belonging to a group. The study proposed here utilized the methodology of participatory observation through bibliographic review and field research, using quantitative data as a support for qualitative research. The research demonstrates that the motivation of the Valley of the Dawn members from Goiás is based on the offer of life meaning made by the doctrine; in the unifying discourse and in the similarity of the symbols that make the Valley of the Dawn narrative complement and update the earlier religious narrative of its followers; in the sense of belonging generated by the execution of ritual works in which the member sees himself responsible for maintaining his own doctrine.