Abstract
Considering the importance of evangelicals to the national political scenario, this research seeks to identify how candidacies are permeated by discourses, appeals and signals of a religious nature. To this end, the content published on the Facebook pages of mayoral candidates whose ballot name includes the term pastor during the 2020 election period was analyzed. The posts of candidates without religious nomenclature are included to verify the distinctions and similarities between the groups. Five thousand and thirty-five posts were analyzed using content analysis. Elements that approximate the candidates were identified, such as public policy issues, while religious references and ethical-moral themes are more valued by pastors. Focusing on the specifics of the ecclesiastical group, we found that the emphasis on religious influences differs according to the party’s ideological classification.
2020 elections; Facebook; religion; pastors as candidates; comparative analysis