In God’s Name: An Analysis of Religion Used as Discursive Instrument in Romanian Presidential Elections

Abstract

The relationship between religion and politics has been subjected to diverse research approaches, the manners in which one influences the other being thoroughly analyzed. The present paper was focused on the same relationship, but in the presence of a third element, social media. Analyzing how these three interact, what can be found within the relations created between them and the effects of these interactions on society were the key objectives of the study. These types of information could be found and interpreted through a critical discourse analysis, done in a time, space and context frame relevant for the matter. The chosen frame was represented by the 2025 Romanian presidential elections campaign, the rerun organized after the cancellation of the 2024 rounds of elections. A strongly religious country, in a complex and complicated political moment could offer the right habitat for an in-depth view. By analyzing the Facebook posts of the four most voted candidates in the first round of elections, patterns and differences in how religion is used as discursive tool were identified and explored. Results showed that religion is a strategic favorite of Romanian candidates running for president. Even if they handled it in different ways, religion was present in an almost mandatory manner in the discourses posted by candidates on their social media pages. Even if the separate analysis of each candidate’s use of religion offered information about their strategies, perhaps the most interesting aspects were found in the posts responding or referring to the opponents and to the content circulating online about them. Social media was proven to be the main element changing the realities of religion and dictating how it is used in political discourse, a lot of room for future research being left in this virtual space of interaction.