The Battle Among the Gods

André Castro was born in Petrolina, a city on the border between Pernambuco and Bahia in Brazil, and grew up within the world of evangelical Christianity. His upbringing was marked by the contrast between his Pentecostal mother’s faith and his Reformed father’s beliefs—two traditions that shaped how he came to understand religion, politics, and everyday life. This early exposure led him to study theology, in search of tools to make sense of the religious environment that had always surrounded him.

During his studies, Castro encountered the work of Rubem Alves, a central figure in Brazilian Liberation Theology. Inspired by Alves, he initially sought to continue in that tradition, even writing a book on the history of Protestant Liberation Theology in Brazil. Over time, however, he began to question whether this theology could still speak to the challenges of contemporary Brazilian society. This reflection marked a turning point in his academic path.

His perspective shifted further through engagement with the work of Paulo Arantes and the broader tradition of Brazilian critical thought. Arantes’s writings led Castro to rethink the role of theology—not as a framework to apply to society, but as something shaped by historical and social experience. That shift forms the foundation of his book The Battle Among the Gods, which explores how the decline of Liberation Theology and the rise of far-right evangelical politics in Brazil are part of the same historical process.

Today, Castro’s work focuses on the intersection of theology, literature, and politics in Latin America. He remains committed to understanding how religious beliefs shape, and are shaped by, political life and national identity.