Dr Pedro Feitoza

Lecturer in Latin American Christianity

Biography

Background

I am a historian of religion in Latin America with particular interests in the social, cultural, and intellectual history of evangelical Christianity in Brazil, Protestant-Catholic interactions, and the renewal of Catholic thought and practice in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. My first monograph, Propagandists of the Book: Protestant Missions, Christian Literacy, and the Making of Brazilian Evangelicalism (Oxford University Press, 2024) explores the intricacies of the early history of evangelical Christianity in Brazil (1860-1930) through an analysis of the production and circulation of Christian periodicals, tracts, and books. It was co-winner of the 2025 Ecclesiastical History Society Book Prize. I also co-edited with Dr Joseph Florez Evangelicalism in Latin America: Historical Documents in Context (Cambridge University Press, 2026), a collection of primary sources documenting the early history of evangelicalism and Pentecostalism in the region.

Born and raised in Brazil, I studied for a BA in History and Education and an MPhil in History in Brasília. This was followed by three years teaching in institutions of secondary and higher education. In 2019 I completed a PhD in History at Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge. Before taking up my current appointment at the School of Divinity in September 2022 I was a postdoctoral fellow at the Brazilian Centre of Analysis and Planning (CEBRAP), São Paulo.

In recent years, I was awarded the World Christianities Essay Prize (Journal of Ecclesiastical History, 2018), the Antonio Candido Prize for Best Article in the Humanities (Latin American Studies Association, Brazil section, 2022), and was the recipient of research grants from the São Paulo Research Foundation (2020-22) and the CAPES-Cambridge Trust (2015-2019).

Qualifications

PhD History, University of Cambridge (2019)

MPhil History, University of Brasília (2012)

BA History and Education, University Centre of Brasília (2009)

Responsibilities & affiliations

Associate editor, Studies in World Christianity (Edinburgh University Press)

Member of editorial board, Studies in Christian Mission (E. J. Brill)

Fellow of the Royal Historical Society

Undergraduate teaching

History of Christianity as a World Religion 1B

Christianity and Politics in Latin America, 1800 to the present

Postgraduate teaching

Christianity and Politics in Latin America, 1800 to the present (PG)

Selected Themes in the Study of World Christianity

Approaches to Research: World Christianity

Latin America in Interdisciplinary Perspective

Open to PhD supervision enquiries?

Yes

Research summary

I work mainly on the social, cultural, and intellectual history of Christianity in modern Latin America. I am particularly interested in the diffusion of evangelical Christianity in Brazil; Protestant and Catholic social and political thought; print culture and the public sphere; the renewal of religious practice and devotion; Protestant-Catholic interactions.

Current research interests

My current project examines the encounter between revivalist evangelical missionaries associated with the Evangelical Union of South America (EUSA) and the populations and natural landscapes of Central Brazil over the twentieth century.

Affiliated research centres

Past project grants

A Social and Intellectual History of Brazilian Protestantism, 1860-1950, The São Paulo Research Foundation (2020-2022)

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