Theopolitics and discourse of domination

a critical-discursive analysis of Silas Malafaia's video with Jair Bolsonaro and the mechanisms of the theology of domination in the legitimation of bolsonarism

Abstract

This article examines, through the framework of Critical Discourse Analysis, how the video in which Silas Malafaia receives Jair Bolsonaro in his pulpit operates as a theopolitical device for legitimizing bolsonarismo. The study demonstrates that the ritualized scene, widely circulated within the Brazilian neopentecostal media ecosystem, transforms the worship service into a space of political consecration, combining a messianic ethos, spiritual warfare, cultural war narratives, and the construction of moral enemies. By mobilizing elements of Dominion Theology, the discourse reframes political competition as part of a divine project, presenting the leader’s electoral success and governmental mission as manifestations of providential election. This sacralization of political authority diminishes the legitimacy of democratic dissent and reshapes expectations about accountability in the public sphere. The article argues that pastoral authority functions as symbolic mediation between God, nation, and political leadership, reinforcing the consolidation of a religious-political bloc that destabilizes key democratic principles such as secularism, pluralism, and institutional autonomy. The findings highlight that the theopolitical grammar and the strategic use of digital media are central mechanisms for understanding the discursive strength of bolsonarismo in contemporary Brazil.