THE PLANO PASTORAL DE CONJUNTO OF THE CNBB (1966–1970):

SECULARIZATION AND THE RECONFIGURATION OF CATHOLICISM IN BRAZIL

Abstract

This paper examines the Plano de Pastoral de Conjunto (PPC) of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB), covering the period 1966-1970, through the lens of Max Weber’s sociology, interpreting it as a milestone in the institutionalization of formal-legal rationality within the Brazilian Catholic Church. It argues that the PPC, though inspired by the renewing spirit of the Second Vatican Council, represents a paradigmatic process of endogenous secularization. Drawing on Weberian concepts such as formal and substantive rationality, purposive rational action, rational-legal domination or bureaucratization, and the tension between charisma and bureaucracy, the text demonstrates how the conciliar reception in Brazil was translated into the adoption of secular planning methodologies, transforming the religious mission into a complex administrative system. The analysis highlights the dialectical tensions between tradition and modernity, between charismatic structures (such as the Comunidades Eclesiais de Base) and the bureaucratic macrostructure, showing how the Brazilian Church sought to reconcile managerial efficiency with spiritual authenticity.