Abstract
With the ultimate triumph of liberal Republicanism in 1889 in Brazil and the adoption of a constitution promoting the separation of Church and State, the formerly dominant Roman Catholic Church entered a long period of struggle to recover its lost position, fighting both the liberal and secular character of the new regime and increasing competition on the "market of faith". Spiritism in its originally Brazilian form proved to be one of the key Catholic adversaries during the First (1889-1930) and Second (1930-1937) Republic, provoking continuing attempts within the official Church to confront and discredit the movement.
This paper explores such an effort through the Catholic portrayal of Spiritism in its official press, focusing on the way its authors formulated both their theological and "scientific" arguments and how they contributed to the creation of the stereotypes linked with it. Its core is based on an analysis of primary sources, mainly the influential biweekly magazine Mensageiro da Fé.