The Influence of Religion on the Second Round of the 2022 Presidential Elections

This chapter provides an analysis of the contentious discursive dynamics surrounding the subject of religion during the 2022 presidential elections in Brazil. It examines the behavior of a set of key Lula and Bolsonaro supporters on YouTube and Twitter. The study reveals that religious agendas were prominent in both of these campaign fields. Utilizing the Iramuteq Software, the chapter examines the lexical network based on tweets and YouTube video titles and descriptions, gathered by the Observatory of the 2022 Brazilian Elections. The findings indicate that each group subverted meanings related to shared issues. Bolsonaro’s supporters portrayed him as a ‘man of God’, while defending him against accusations that he was not a true Christian. In contrast, Lula’s supporters focused on debunking false information about the PT candidate and intensified its accusations against Bolsonaro. The analysis also shows that the intensity and dynamics of the publications vary according to each platform.