Young women and the poor: considerations about Toca de Assis female community

This paper analyzes the representations of young women belonging to the religious community, Toca de Assis, on contemporary society, gender roles, and motivations for religious adherence to a radical experience related to the care of the poor. The empirical data contributing to discussion of the nonlinear dynamics of the construction of religious identity and youth religious choices in contemporary modernity. Toca de Assis expresses interesting nuances of what can be understood as a paradox in its performance, i.e. recovering values from medieval Franciscans, the care of the poor for instance, and innovation both in gender relations and the ways to diffuse a religious message. The outcome from a larger study, this paper is mainly grounded on interviews with young women members of Toca de Assis between 2009-2011.

Modernity; religious identity; Toca de Assis; Female gender