Catholic Church in Brazil and its Higher Education institutions

Catholic universities’ responses to these constrictions can be measured by the kinds of major degrees offered or by the knowledge areas emphasized in their budgets; therefore, it is possible to unveil their investment profile. Moreover, considering the context of Brazilian universities as a whole, it is viable to establish classification standards allowing this research to describe a topography of these institutions, both in a geographical, literal meaning, as well as in a sociological one using the concept created by French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu.

The fact that most of the analyzed institutions offer only undergraduate degrees – the majority of which consisting of Pedagogy courses and Licentiate Degrees – allows the paper to affirm that these institutions hold a dominated position in what concerns scientific innovation and, at the same time, a dominating position in the dissemination of the existing knowledge.