Talk:Macumba/Comments

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the article refers to macumba as a "religion"--implying something less than a religion. this is reinforced by the term cult which is used as well. popular religions exist in all faiths; it is pejorative to use scare quotes in this case, as in all cases of religions associated with african beliefs. a common weakness in western understandings of african society. ken harrowKharrow (talk) 16:10, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

I think this article is very simplistic and badly researched. I also think that its assertion that "macumba" is simply a pejorative term is exaggerated. In fact, this notion is mainly a New Age assertion more than it is a Brazilian one. Most Brazilians are not going to use hairsplittingly correct terminology to describe every distinct form of cult practice in the country. Rather, they are going to continue to use the generic term, which they do not see as pejorative at all. Bryant Holman (Bryant798 (talk) 18:13, 12 March 2008 (UTC))