This article critically revises the genesis and development of studies on Catholicism in the field of Social Sciences in Brazil, using as a focal point the tension between tradition and modernity. The traditional place attributed to Catholicism in writings that would veer it towards the axis of tradition in the Twentieth Century is questioned. At the same time, the aim is to show that, using the perspective of theories of practice, Catholicism is permeable to modernity, actively adapting itself to the new religious landscape that is being established in the country with the secularization process and religious differentiation. This work also aims at suggesting the limits of theoretical approaches that associate Catholicism with an "Enchanted Brazil", theories that have served as a background to emphasize the values of a new modern order being established as a counterpoint to an imaginary past that must be overcome. With this theoretical critique in mind, the article presents, in chronological order, a selection of authors and writers who have marked Catholic studies in the country.
Catholicism; Social Sciences; Modernity; Tradition; Social change and conversion