O Rito da Confirmação Luterana e o Processo Escolar dos Pomeranos na Serra dos Tapes - RS (1938-1971).

Abstract

The present thesis takes form in order to analyse the relations between the ritual of Confirmation and the learning process of children and youth from Lutheran private schools inside the Pomeranian cultural area in Serra dos Tapes, a green highway in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, from 1938 to 1971. Lutheran Confirmation is understood as a rite of passage. In this rite, the teenagers and youth are prepared, by the means of confirmatory education, to reaffirm their faith in Confirmation. It is known as a Pomeranian ethnicity element, which determines the passage from childhood to adulthood and its responsibilities, setting the beginning of youthhood. The study of this topic is surrounded by the historical process of cultural and religious development in Serra dos Tapes. The methodology of this investigation counts on oral history and document analysis from the perspective of studies in the field of History of Education. The work embraces orienting concepts such as ethnicity (BARTH, 2011), habitus and field (BOURDIEU, 1994) Protestant ethic (WEBER, 2004), among others. The aspects of school education are analysed from the classroom material culture point of view (JULIA, 2001), from the analysis of documents and narratives of former students, teachers and Confirmation candidates, allowing the school scenario of the time to be observed, as well as the Church motivations and, also, the intentionality of the community families once their children make their Confirmation. It was necessary to understand the organization of community schools, since from the analysis of the elements from those educational institutions, such as narratives and documents, it became clear that, in fact, religious practices, such as Confirmation, intervened in the non-sequence of the studies. It was concluded that one of the reasons why youth did not complete their studies was the ritual of Confirmation, an experience validated by its own community and defined as the moment of school completion, culturally and religiously internalized. Besides, there were no secondary schools within the rural environment, and the journey of the youth to the city meant a cultural distance from the community, even seeking school completion, for families needed help from their children to work in farming.