Networks, Society, and Polis: Epistemological Approaches on Mediatization

Magali do Nascimento Cunha 162 media and have this space as their most prominent possibility of expression and visibility at present. Digital media are their environment of counter-hegemonic action both in the political sphere and in the Brazilian evangelical scene and have the pos- sibility of reach and visibility never achieved before. As an example, Pastor Henrique Vieira (Igreja Batista do Caminho), a PSOL’s leader in Rio de Janeiro, due to his pres- ence in digital media and public events, has gained space in alternative news media as well as in major traditional 5 media. Likewise, the Evangelical Front for the Rule of Law founded in 2014, and the visibility achieved by its more illustrious lead- ership, the Baptist Pastor Ariovaldo Ramos, who has gained attention and space in alternative digital media, like the blog “Nocaute” and the “Mídia Ninja” collective. In this sense, over - coming the condition of invisibility of progressive evangelicals is a new element that must be observed and analyzed in new and updated research. V – Concluding notes Evangelical digital political activism is a new compo- nent in the way Brazilian evangelicals culturally enroll them- selves in the polis, as a de-privatized religious group, builder of public religion. This activism becomes a prominent element in the process of political participation of this religious group. Evangelical digital political activism emerges from the mediatization processes experienced by the evangelical seg- ment in Brazil, that is to say, from the circuits created and rec- reated through the mediation that enables interaction between evangelicals and of evangelicals with other religious and non- religious groups, interested in discussing topics, carrying out campaigns, and establishing actions around the country’s po- litical agendas. 5 From November 2017 until the writing of this text, in May 2018, Pastor Hen- rique Vieira had participated three times as a commentator of Programa Encon- tro, anchored by presenter Fátima Bernardes, in the mornings at Rede Globo TV.