Water is not neutral

Religious Terreiros in Rio Grande do Sul in the context of the climate crisis and environmental racism

Abstract

https://doi.org/10.1590/2179-8966/2026/97299

This article analyzes the impacts of the May 2024 floods on the People of Terreiro in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, based on the report Emergency Mapping of Affected Terreiros. Data collected under emergency conditions reveal that 94.1% of the physical structures suffered damage, with more than half completely destroyed, in addition to significant demands for reconstruction and basic supplies as minimum conditions for reparation. The research interprets these findings through the analytical framework of environmental racism, understanding the extreme climate event not as a socially neutral or purely natural phenomenon, but as one that disproportionately affects historically racialized social and territorial inequalities. Terreiros constitute traditional territories characterized by diverse cultural and religious practices that are constitutionally protected, while also fulfilling a significant social and community-based function. Their destruction therefore represents not only material loss but also a violation of religious freedom and social and cultural rights. The research argues that the identified vulnerability is not contingent, but rather the result of long-standing processes of social exclusion, space segregation. Extreme climate events are not socially neutral. They reproduce and deepen preexisting racial hierarchies, profoundly affecting Terreiro communities by interrupting religious practices, dismantling care networks, and exposing the persistence of territorially structured racial inequalities