Rubem Alves and the Hope: between the Sadness of the Belief and the Joy of the Search

Abstract

This article intends to demonstrate how, in Rubem Alves’ thought, the idea of hope is central to the formation of a theory of religion. In our view, hope is placed between the presence of absence and mystical emigration, responding to an ontological lack in the human being. From this characterization, we intend to dialogue with a certain criticism made to Alves in order to identify how lack, which leads to hope, is not necessarily synonymous with sadness, but with joy in the search, based on the idea of mysticism. We intend, here, to contribute to the discussion about a theory of religion in Rubem Alves.

Keywords: Rubem Alves. Theory of Religion. Hope.