Fratelli, ma non tutti: Catholic neoreactionism and intrareligious violence in digital environments

Abstract

Throughout history, the relationship between religion and violence has not been an anomaly, but rather a recurring feature of the ways in which the sacred is mobilized. In contemporary society, these dynamics are profoundly reconfigured within a communicational ecology shaped by the process of mediatization, in which the expansion of possibilities for expression and connection enabled by digital platforms coexists with the intensification of practices of hostility and silencing, often legitimized by religious discourses. In this context, this article problematizes symbolic-verbal religious violence in digital environments, specifically within Brazilian Catholicism, where a fundamental tension emerges: discursive violence contradicts the very principles that sustain the identity of these subjects and communities. To this end, the article unfolds in four interrelated movements: (1) it reflects on the historical relationship between religious violence and media processes; (2) it deepens the notion of symbolic-verbal violence and its specificity in the context of digital networks; (3) it examines the intensification of these dynamics in digital environments, considering the culture of cancellation, haters, hate speech, and the “swarm effect”; and (4) it analyzes intra-Catholic violence and the theological-communicational paradox arising from phenomena such as “Catholic cyber-militias,” “Catholic neoreactionism,” and the practice of excommunication. In conclusion, drawing on recent ecclesial teaching, the article argues that only a universal communication grounded in fraternal love and social dialogue can generate a “disarmed and disarming” culture of peace.