“Contra a liberdade de consciência”: conflitos e casos de intolerância entre a maçonaria e a igreja católica via imprensa alagoana (1870 – 1889)

Abstract

The present research proposes to analyze how, in the region of Alagoas, between the years of 1870 and 1889, the confrontation between Freemasonry and the Church took place, focusing on cases of intolerance disseminated or promoted by the local press. The core of this debate is located within the Alagoas intellectual elite, seeking to understand: (1) how the confrontations between the two institutions took place in the province of Alagoas; (2) which personalities of the time were behind the joint press attacks; and, (3) what were the impacts of these confrontations on Alagoas society in the period. As main sources, periodicals in circulation in the province of Alagoas in the period were selected, especially Labarum – Órgão da Maçonaria, pastoral instructions and books of personalities of the time linked to the conflict. Some techniques are used: the analysis of discourse, where it is understood as influenced by external factors, being part of a historical process that endows it with legitimacy for certain groups or individuals, based on the Foucauldian definition (FOUCAULT, 1996) ; also the definition of Certeau for analysis of sources (CERTEAU, 2017), for whom all production is related to a time and place, enabling the understanding of institutions and other factors in the surroundings. Likewise, for the debate on freedom of conscience and how it was rooted in material-based transformations that took place in society at the time, it was necessary to use materialist methodology, specifically in the works of Marx, Engels (MARX, ENGELS, 2007 ) and Lukács (LUKÁCS, 2018). The research contribute to the field of History of Alagoas, within the scope of conflicts and power relations in the province in the imperial period, specifically with regard to the History of Alagoas Freemasonry and its role in the transformations that occurred, a topic still little addressed in the literature state history.