Faith and religion are used as rhetoric on social media – 04/01/2024 – Forwarded Frequently

The use of religious symbols in the political sphere became widespread on social media during Easter week. Taking advantage of the fact that stories such as the path of Jesus’ ordeal and Judas’ betrayal are widely publicized in masses, services or in films on television, politicians take the opportunity to elevate themselves or attack their opponents through analogies.

It is a common strategy for communication teams to make associations with images and events that are consolidated in the popular imagination. In this way, using excerpts from the Bible to reinforce an idea or make comparisons makes it easier to understand the message conveyed.

The use of parables, metaphors and analogies is not restricted to communication professionals. Most good storytellers make use of these resources to increase their resonance with their interlocutors. For this reason, biblical stories gain relevance because they are widely known and remembered.

Last week, for example, Davi, one of the participants of Big Brother Brasil, told the story of David and Goliath live to reinforce his faith and one day after fighting with another participant in the reality show. The story is often used to convey hope that someone with less strength or expression is capable of defeating the “giant”.

In social media monitoring carried out by Palver, both Lula (PT) and Jair Bolsonaro (PL) were the biggest targets of videos, images and audio related to the use of religious symbols. The two most used scenes were the betrayal of Judas and the suffering of Jesus inflicted by soldiers of the Roman Empire.

In the more than 60,000 WhatsApp and Telegram groups analyzed by the company, terms associated with Judas grew by more than 500%, uploaded mainly by right-wing groups, which created montages with Lula’s photo to call for the “Judas workout “. In the images, Lula appears tied to a post surrounded by people with sticks.

In one of the posts marked as “frequently forwarded” by WhatsApp, the text said that it is the day to work out “the biggest Judas in Brazil”, along with the image in which Lula appears with the numbers 666 on his forehead. Another message with some incidents says that “this one is worse than Judas because he even deceived his people, you stupid muggle”.

A video also became popular on WhatsApp and TikTok in which a pastor, when celebrating the service, compares Lula and PT members to “Satan” and says that Jesus is from the right, as “he is for the family”. The pastor ends the video by saying that “there is no PT, there is no left, there is no Lula who will dismantle what God created, the family.”

Another biblical character widely used in right-wing groups was Barabbas. A cartoon that was widely disseminated in both WhatsApp and Telegram groups featured a drawing of Jesus crucified and two empty crosses next to it with the information that “this year we will not have the role of thief” and that “all the extras were appointed ministers together with the main actor, Barabás”.

In left-wing groups, users shared montages in which Bolsonaro appears in place of the Roman soldiers who beat Jesus. In all the montages, the phrase, once used by Bolsonaro, “I am in favor of torture, you know that” was accompanied by images in which Jesus was flagellated by Bolsonaro on the way to Calvary.

On Friday (29), the MTST posted on its social networks a photo in which two soldiers appear next to Jesus on the cross with the comment that “a good criminal is a dead criminal”. This publication was intensely exploited by right-wing politicians to criticize both the movement and Guilherme Boulos (PSOL), pointing out that it is an attack on faith and Christians.

LINK PRESENT: Did you like this text? Subscribers can access five free accesses from any link per day. Just click the blue F below.