Conservative religious activism in the Brazilian Congress: Sexual agendas in focus

In this article, we aim to reflect on the emergence and manipulation of social feelings in the context of intense transformations, called cold periods in history by Durkheim. The event known in the mainstream media as the ‘gay kit’, and political and religious articulations surrounding its suppression in 2011, is the empirical basis for our analysis. As a counterpoint, we will identify narratives and conservative activism organized around Bill No. 6583/2013, also known as the Family Statute, which has been the subject of numerous public debates, especially in 2015. In both cases, we reflect on social fears, morally based panic and on the situated activation of the rhetoric of loss by politicians with religious conservative liberal profiles.