O tema desta disserta??o ? a identidade e a relev?ncia da Igreja na sociedade atual, ? luz da nova teologia pol?tica de Johann Baptist Metz. A rela??o entre a Igreja e a sociedade ? de fundamental import?ncia nesse trabalho. A presen?a e a miss?o da Igreja no espa?o p?blico, ambiente este marcado pela globaliza??o, pela diversidade de culturas e religi?es, bem como pelo avan?o da ci?ncia e da tecnologia, se observa fragilizada no que diz respeito ? relev?ncia da Igreja. Deste modo, a reflex?o em torno da rela??o entre a identidade e a relev?ncia da Igreja se faz necess?ria. Johann Baptist Metz ? o te?logo que nos guiar? nesta pesquisa. Metz desenvolveu a sua teologia pol?tica tendo em vista a afirma??o da miss?o p?blica da Igreja. Ele buscou reagir perante a uma tend?ncia de privatiza??o do discurso sobre Deus, e consequentemente, da auto privatiza??o da Igreja, fechada em si mesma. Ao longo da Hist?ria a compreens?o de ?teologia pol?tica? esteve na base das religi?es civis, e no s?culo XX, com Carl Schmittt, se consolidou como uma teologia pol?tica jur?dica, na qual os conceitos jur?dicos eram considerados conceitos teol?gicos. Metz, consciente deste hist?rico, d? ?nfase a ?nova? teologia pol?tica, na qual o conceito de pol?tico se refaz em termos cr?ticos e libertadores, centrados na vida humana, e sem o seu ethos ideol?gico. Assim, a Igreja ? compreendida como institui??o da liberdade sociocr?tica. A partir da leitura das obras deste te?logo, assim como de uma ampla pesquisa em obras que convirjam ? tem?tica apresentada, se buscar? expor a possibilidade da relev?ncia da Igreja a partir da afirma??o da sua identidade. The theme of this dissertation is the identity and relevance of the Church in today's society in light of Johann Baptist Metz's new political theology. The relationship between Church and society is of fundamental importance in this work. The presence and mission of the Church in the public space, an environment marked by globalization, by the diversity of cultures and religions, as well as by the advance of science and technology, is seen to be weakened with regard to the relevance of the Church. Thus, reflection on the relationship between the identity and the relevance of the Church becomes necessary. Johann Baptist Metz is the theologian who will guide us in this research. Metz developed his political theology with a view to affirming the public mission of the Church. He tried to react to a tendency to privatize the discourse about God, and consequently, the self-privatization of the Church, closed in on itself. Throughout history the understanding of "political theology" was at the basis of civil religions, and in the 20th century, with Carl Schmittt, it was consolidated as a juridical political theology, in which juridical concepts were considered theological concepts. Metz, aware of this history, emphasizes the "new" political theology, in which the concept of the political is reworked in critical and liberating terms, centered on human life, and without its ideological ethos. Thus, the Church is understood as an institution of socio-critical freedom. From the reading of the works of this theologian, as well as from an extensive research in works that converge with the theme presented, we will seek to expose the possibility of the relevance of the Church from the affirmation of its identity. Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior - CAPES