Abstract:
This paper surveys the inclusion of people with disabilities within the Evangelical
Church of Lutheran Confession in Brazil (ECLCB) based on the dialogue between
two fields of knowledge, religion and education. They study discusses the relation
between church and inclusion, examining issues raised by debates in the educational
field in dialogue with congregational "voices", statements collected in interviews with
leaders of congregations and with members of coordinating committees working with
disabled people at the synod and national levels. The first chapter briefly presents
the history of ECLCB, from its origins to the present, highlighting the development of
the reflection and the effort to include disabled people within the church. The second
chapter provides a historical, biblical-theological review, in an attempt to discern how
people with disabilities were seen and understood in pre-Christian times. The third
chapter looks for contributions towards an inclusive congregational practice by
means of a dialogue in line with the Pauline image of the church as a "body"
between the issues and reflections on inclusion in the educational field and the
congregational day to day expressed in the statements made by the people
interviewed.
