Piedosas e Policulturais: conversão, agência e tormento moral entre mulheres evangélicas judaizantes no Brasil: conversão, agência e tormento moral entre mulheres evangélicas judaizantes no Brasil

Based on a ethnography in a former Brazilian Charismatic Evangelical/Pentecostal church going through a dramatic Judaizing process, this study investigates the ways in which former Christian women (with no Jewish background) are embracing the menstrual taboos, the strict dress codes - including the use of headscarves - and the rituals of ultra-Orthodox Jews, while still preserving Christian tenets. Drawing on religious change theories, current debates on the anthropology of Christianity and the feminist literature on women’s involvement in patriarchal religions, this article explores women’s agency in religious conversion processes. Unlike current scholarly views emphasizing women’s agency through compliance and embodiment of religious norms, the polycultural frame proposed in this article highlights the negotiations, the hybrid culturalassemblages and the ‘moral torment’ involved in dramatic religious change projects. These insights indicate the importance of considering the ethical reflexive exercises, the re-interpretations, and cultural accommodations when analyzing religious conversion.