Religion and the Pandemic: the use of hydroxychloroquine and the closure of religious temples from the perspective of Folha Universal

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of the way the newspaper “Folha Universal” reported the Covid-19 pandemic during the years of 2020, 2021 and 2022, specially about the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for the disease and the closure of religious temples. The newspaper belongs to the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG), an important religious institution with relevant political engagement. Our research focus was the editorials and articles related to the pandemic, published in editions from the beginning of 2020 (the year the pandemic started in Brazil) to April of 2022 (the month in which the Ministry of Health declared the end of the Emergency in Public Health of National Importance by Covid-19). We read all the content published weekly, categorized it by theme and executed the analysis. We identified the “iurdiano” support for Bolsonaro's placements in defense of the use of hydroxychloroquine. From the perspective of “Folha Universal”, the political use of the drug only occurred because it was advertised by Jair Bolsonaro. At the same time, they criticized the lockdown in order to defend the model of vertical isolation, with an emphasis on economic arguments, maintaining synergy with Bolsonaro's government position. The recommendation to close the temples was labeled as a communist practice and they used the argument that “closing a temple would be like closing a hospital”. Our article reveals that “Folha Universal” consistently defended President Jair Bolsonaro's arguments and his government's public policies during the period of the Covid-19 pandemic.