Ritual Performance of the Santo Daime Church in Miami: Co-constructive Selves in the Midst of Impediments to Local Acculturation
June 27, 2014 Alfonso Matas 2 citations
Santo Daime, a syncretic religion born in the 1930s in the Amazon, has become an international New Religion Movement that attracts a disenchanted middle class through shamanic power, nature veneration, universal love, and the psychoactive plant medicine ayahuasca. In Miami, the church faces acculturation challenges due to a rigid, grueling ritual, a pervasive Catholic ethos, and a lack of internal bureaucracy, leading to declining membership. Research methods included ethnographic work, literature review, personal interviews, and exegesis of sacred hymns. Relaxing the ritual's military ethos and improving marketing in the New-Age religiosity marketplace could aid acculturation in Miami, an ideal incubator for migrant, Latin American, and Caribbean religions.