On July 9, 1977 a new church opened its doors in the Zona Norte of Rio de Janeiro. The Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus (IURD) had humble beginnings; the first church service was held in an old funeral parlor. The church's founder and leader, self-proclaimed Bispo Edir Macedo, created what would ultimately become a powerhouse in the realm of Brazilian religion.

The IURD is well known for its catchphrase: pare de sofrer (stop suffering), a message that speaks to millions of impoverished Brazilians. This mandate is delivered as a part of the IURD's prosperity gospel, a theology that states that those in God's favor will receive financial, material, and corporal blessings. Given Brazil's conceptualization of race, one that intimately ties skin color with socio-economic class, the propagation of the prosperity gospel in this context has influenced the ways in which members of the IURD view themselves and the world around them. In addition, the church advocates for a liberal, individual-centered lifestyle, one which contradicts societal roles, particularly gender roles, encouraged by other popular religions in Brazil Based on ten months of fieldwork at a small, IURD branch church in Salvador, Brazil, this dissertation aims to understand the impact that the IURD has had on both a personal and societal level.