In September, the Humanitas360 Institute held two sessions of the Difficult Conversations project, which discusses sensitive topics in our society in a frank and informed manner. On September 11th, the 4th edition of the series brought the efforts of Yellow September – a month dedicated to suicide prevention awareness – to the CIVI-CO auditorium. In a debate moderated by anthropologist Juliano Spyer, three guests sought to answer the question: “How do faith communities embrace the relatives and friends of those who die by suicide?”
In her testimony, psychologist and writer Nanna Castro shared how, after losing her daughter, she began organizing support events for parents who lost children to suicide, as well as visiting underserved communities to conduct prevention campaigns with young people through comic book readings – such as “Celinna’s Sky,” written based on her experience. Next, Baptist pastor and theologian Júnior Martins shared the experiences that led to writing “The Silent Battle of Pastors,” a book that investigates the mental health of his colleagues, aiming to demystify the taboo surrounding depression and suicide. Finally, Presbyterian pastor and sociologist Valdinei Ferreira, who promotes the benefits of meditation in Christian environments, argued that binaries such as honor-shame, success-failure, and guilt-grace should be replaced in faith communities with the notion of dignity.
Special Edition
On September 15th, Itaú Cultural in São Paulo hosted a special edition of Conversas Difíceis. The event featured the launch of the documentary “The Place Where Hope Lives,” by filmmaker Miguel Salvador from Paraíba, who discussed the work afterward with philosopher and writer Luiz Felipe Pondé and Juliano Spyer.
Building on the film’s reflection about the direction of evangelical Christianity in Brazil, the discussion addressed the relationship between religion and politics, the history of Christianity, and the current state of Brazilian evangelical faith communities, including both their contradictions and their potential. “The Place Where Hope Lives” is available online on the Poder de Deus YouTube channel.
Conversas Difíceis is a project created by Instituto Humanitas360 in partnership with the social impact hub CIVI-CO and anthropologist Juliano Spyer. The special edition at Itaú Cultural was supported by Fundação Itaú.
