Orthodoxy and the E-Spirit of Radicalism 

PROFESSOR SARAH RICCARDI-SWARTZ

It seems American Orthodoxy has a radicalism problem. The Church has almost always had a conservative social posture. But in our own moment, it is becoming more bent toward reactive politics and ideology, and nowhere is that more evident than on the Orthoweb. As an Orthodox Christian, anthropologist, and scholar of American religion who has studied and researched Orthodox Christianity in the U.S. for well over a decade, I can say that the turn among some laity and clergy to politicized digital discourse is changing the social ethos of our Church in ways that will have lasting impacts on the faith in the West. When criticizing the secularization of American culture, Orthodox Christians, often converts, take to social media networks to promote a moral Orthodox vision for the future. They express deep concerns over the secularization of society—concerns that are warranted, at least in part. They believe Orthodoxy, perhaps paired with certain far-right political philosophies, might be able to reclaim the world for God. To enact this type of social change, they often seek out like-minded believers on the internet. Social solidarity, even online, can be a beneficial aspect of a shared worldview; at the same time, it can be a galvanizing force for disruption. Many on the Orthoweb see their posts as a path toward re-Christianizing America; but in truth, I believe, this project does not reflect Orthodox theology or teachings, so much as it reflects the long history of the American culture wars—and by extension, the machinations of modern secularism. 

As Fr. Cyril Hovorun writes elsewhere in this issue, one of the main features of modernity was and is the replacement of religion with ideology. I have witnessed this turn to ideology firsthand, both in person and online. I have watched as lay people—men and women—try to use Orthodox theology in tandem with Southern Lost Cause ideology. This is happening, and I believe it is rapidly getting worse. It is disturbing to witness the hijacking of our faith, but we cannot turn away from it. Yet to call out the replacement of religion and true spirituality with political ideology and propaganda—both online and in our parishes—we have to come to terms with the social context of why this might be happening and what it has to do with modernity. Enter the culture wars. 

Culture Wars

In the early 1990s, the sociologist James Davidson Hunter wrote a groundbreaking book on the social culture wars in the U.S. He argued that there was a series of social issues—women’s rights, gay rights, even funding for the arts—that ultimately divided people along religious and political lines in a way that had not been seen since the Civil War. I met Hunter in 2018 at Georgetown University during a two-day intensive workshop on Russia and the Global Culture Wars. We spent much of our time discussing how the language of the 1990s culture wars had become reinvigorated and even weaponized in the 2010s, particularly around transgender rights and abortion access. To explain what might happen to the U.S. because of this social or moral divide, Hunter reminded those of us present that after he wrote Culture Wars, he published Before the Shooting Begins. Hunter was concerned that the contemporary culture wars have become more akin to a truth divide—fractures in our social reality. These fractures not only mean that families become estranged because of social moral disagreements, they also mean that, at the macro level, the binding fabric of America, that of a free democracy, is in tatters. Hunter went so far as to suggest that we might eventually see another civil war. 

Hunter’s concerns over the social divide are not only felt in politics or at the family dinner table; they are also felt in religious communities, even Orthodox ones. In the Orthodox online world, the culture wars are part of the discourses found on blogs, podcasts, and social media of lay people and clergy. Users assert their theological and political positions on a wide range of social issues, often forming what anthropologists call kinship bonds with followers and commenters from around the globe. United by their shared views, they invoke language reminiscent of the early 1990s, when the Moral Majority and Jerry Falwell used inflammatory, even derogatory language for Americans who were on the other side of social issues. I have witnessed self-professed Orthodox Christians use similar language in social-media discourse to describe people with whom they disagree. 

Many in these digital communities say they feel alienated from what they perceive as the liberal progressivism of modernity, and they often say that by tweeting, posting on Facebook, and podcasting, they are fighting for their religious beliefs, their theological values, their Orthodox worldview. Ironically, by posting such comments online, by using the language of the culture wars, they do not spread the theology of the Church; rather, they reinforce the secular roots of the social divide, becoming complicit in the historical narrative of secularism in the U.S. After all, the culture wars are a product of secularism, the manifestation of political parties fighting each other to claim moral dominion over the other, using religion as a weapon in their respective quests. Engaging in the culture wars, particularly when using Orthodox language or theology, replaces religion with political ideology. That, it seems Fr. Cyril would argue, is an act of modernity, that “religion effectively allies with its enemy—ideology.” Ultimately, the blend of religious traditionalism and far-right politics is quintessentially a modern project founded in secularism and steeped not in theology but ideology. 

There are, of course, two sides to any divide, and some might say that the other side of the culture wars deserves some criticism as well. However, it seems to me that within the Church, far-right ideology poses the greatest threat to theological and social unity. Fr. Cyril has noted that we cannot allow culture-war ideology to affect the Church. I would argue that it already has affected the Church, and that we are facing a serious internal crisis. Orthodoxy is being co-opted by political speech and far-right ideas, thanks in part to digital technology. Many of the faithful do not realize or take seriously the spread of culture-war ideology online. It does not seem like a real-world problem, and that is precisely why it is such a problem. It threatens not only the spiritual life of our Church but also our internal mechanisms of religious authority. 

Radicalism and Internet Authority 

Orthodoxy is a faith built on tradition, hierarchy, and apostolic authority. These longstanding ideas seem to find appeal among many converts. At the same time, however, there are Orthodox online personalities who promote a notion I call situational authority—that is, they choose to respect or disregard the authority of hierarchs depending on the situation. This was especially noticeable at the height of the COVID pandemic. One avid Twitter user, an Orthodox layman from Southern California, explained that he no longer believed his bishop could be trusted spiritually because the bishop supported the lockdown regulations for churches. 

Another trend is that some online Orthodox users employ reactive, even violent, language against particular racial, ethnic, and social groups— rather than the language of salvation and love for their neighbors. It could be argued that these posters have become co-sharers in the production of modernity by cloaking their ideological aims in the language of theology, tradition, and the writings of esoteric monks or nuns. The question then becomes one of how to deal with the digital divisiveness. The answer, of course, is not to ask the faithful to stay off the internet. Given our digitized world, that is not feasible. There are also certain benefits to having spaces on the internet where Orthodox folks can connect—as so many experienced during the pandemic. Nor is it the answer to ask the faithful to practice online etiquette. Pleas for online decorum are simply not enough. 

I would suggest the answer is to cull radicalism through proper catechetical training and a willingness, on the part of clergy and bishops, to acknowledge openly that this problem exists in our Church. Recently, I spoke with a deacon who teaches catechism for his parish. He mentioned that the first thing he does is try to weed out political ideologies posing as spirituality or theology. He exhorts seekers to stop following online spiritual guides and to instead read the Church fathers and mothers, alongside other classic theologians. At the same time, he worries it is not enough. As a researcher, I too am worried. We are seeing the language of history and tradition being used to spread political ideology into our parishes—in other words, being used as a carrier of modernity. We must not allow far-right radicalism to infect our faith. Instead, we must discuss the matter openly and frankly. We must examine closely the social conflicts occurring between parishioners, among congregations, and even between jurisdictions. To do so demands that we take seriously Orthodox social-media culture wars, rather than dismiss them as digital aberrations without real-world effects. 

Dr. Sarah Riccardi-Swartz is an assistant professor of religion and anthropology at Northeastern University and the author of Between Heaven and Russia: Religious Conversion and Political Apostasy in Appalachia. She is a member of the Orthodox Church in America.