Editing Rational Culture (section)

== Origins ==
Rational Culture emerged on October 4, 1935,{{Sfn|Cavalcante Modesto da Silva|2013|p=14}} at the "Tenda Espírita Francisco de Assis" <ref name=":1">{{cite web |last=Secretaria de Cultura |first=Secretaria de Comunicação |url=https://agencia.sorocaba.sp.gov.br/misterios-da-cultura-racional-serao-discutidos-na-biblioteca/ |title=Mistérios da 'Cultura Racional' serão discutidos na Biblioteca Municipal |date=19 November 2019 |access-date=11 September 2020 |publisher=Prefeitura de Sorocaba |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200912014431/https://agencia.sorocaba.sp.gov.br/misterios-da-cultura-racional-serao-discutidos-na-biblioteca/ |archive-date=12 September 2020}}</ref>{{Sfn|Cavalcante Modesto da Silva|2013|p=14}} in Rio de Janeiro, Rua Lopez da Cruz, Méier.{{Sfn|Cavalcante Modesto da Silva|2013|p=14}}

During the early decades of the 20th century, persecution of [[Afro-Brazilian religions]] increased, with practitioners of these religious segments being pursued and monitored by the police, especially between 1930 and 1945.<ref>{{Cite thesis|url=https://tede2.pucsp.br/handle/handle/3871|title=Sob o signo da ameaça: conflito, poder e feitiço nas religiões afro-brasileiras|type=thesis|degree=postdoctoral|year=1998|publisher=PUC-SP}}</ref> To escape this persecution and be accepted by society, especially the urban middle class, some Afro-Brazilian religions underwent a process of "de-Africanization" and [[Racial whitening|whitening]],<ref>PRANDI, Reginaldo. Referências sociais das religiões afro-brasileiras: sincretismo, branqueamento, africanização - VII Jornadas sobre Alternativas Religiosas en Latinoamérica. 27 al 29 de Noviembre de 1997.</ref> in which they sought to differentiate themselves from the so-called "lower spiritism," viewed by this society as backward and uncultured, while also constructing a "rational legitimacy."<ref>ORTIZ, Renato. A morte branca do feiticeiro negro. Petrópolis: Vozes, 1978</ref> For this purpose, a group known as the "Intellectuals of Umbanda"<ref>ISAIA, Artur C.. Ordenar progredindo: a obra dos intelectuais de Umbanda no Brasil da primeira metade do século XX. Anos Noventa. Porto Alegre: UFRGS, (11): 97-120, 1999.</ref> worked intensively to provide Umbanda with a doctrinal basis and written knowledge, thereby distinguishing it from the practices of "lower spiritism."