Catolicismo e política na era digital: o caso de Bernardo Küster e a Teologia da Libertação no YouTube

Abstract

The research examines Bernardo Küster’s discourses, a conservative Catholic follower of Olavo de Carvalho, on YouTube, and analyzes videos published from July 2017 to November 2020 whose main theme is Liberation Theology. This analysis is based on studies of conservatism and religious progressivism in Brazil and Latin America, and considers the relationship between the far-right, christianism and social media. The study reveals that the ideological foundation of Bolsonarism has its roots in Brazil’s historical Catholicism, with an anti-Marxist discourse dating back to the 1930s. This ideology gains strength on modern platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and, most notably, YouTube, giving rise to new generations of theorists/influencers. Keywords: Christian conservatism; Digital political activism; YouTube.